Haunted
by gizziefan118
Summary: someone has been killing women in seattle. will the doctors of Seattle Grace be able to escape him? takes place in 4 season, mostly MerDer with some Gizzie. all characters involved.
1. Chapter 1

This story is going to be set in fourth season, with everything going on is basically the same, except for a couple changes.

I got the idea for this story a while ago, but never got around to writing it. I don't know how it'll do, but I hope that people will take interest in it. Please read and review to tell me what you think. Rosalie

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.

Haunted-part 1

A lot of people are afraid to be alone. A lot of people are afraid of the dark. When you add them together, it's usually even worse. Because when you're alone in the dark, anything can happen, and with a chance that no one will help you.

This fear multiplied in the city of Seattle one night when a college girl went missing, and was found a couple days later in an alley. The girl had been killed, and whoever it was apparently had-you could say- his way with her first.

There were no clues left behind. The girl's family was devastated. It was all very sad, but it eventually died down. Until it happened again. That's when people really started to get afraid. The second girl was much like the first, young, healthy, and had a bright future ahead of her. People were convinced it was the same person, and that it could happen again. And it did, more than once.

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It had been on the news, in the papers, everywhere, and everyone was talking about it. It was hard to go somewhere without hearing one person say something. People were also getting protective, with some people agreeing and thankful, and others, like Meredith Grey, for example, were just annoyed.

Derek had been harassing her about it, with the _don't be alone_, and _be careful wherever you go_. She told him over and over again that it was fine, but he didn't seem to get the picture. He still followed her around to make sure she listened to him, and didn't even seem to notice how much it bothered her. He was more worried about her to care. She was young, beautiful, and an easy target. Until the guy was caught, he was going to make sure that nothing happened.

"He won't leave me alone," Meredith complained as she sat down with Cristina, Izzie and George for lunch. "He's driving me absolutely insane."

"He's just being careful," George said in Derek's defense.

"Yeah, George isn't much different," Izzie told Meredith. "I know how you feel."

"I have every right to worry, about all of you-"

"We already hear it enough, thank you," Meredith told him.

"I guess I'm lucky I have no one to annoy me," Cristina said. They all looked at her. "What?" she said, annoyed by this.

"Nothing," Meredith sighed, before George or Izzie could say anything. She knew that talking about Burke, or anything near him, would not make Cristina any happier. Meredith looked across the cafeteria and could see Alex sitting with her sister. Apparently they were having lunch together. That was just great of course. Another way for Lexie to try and force her way into her life, through her friends.

"Lexie?" Cristina guessed, noticing where Meredith was looking.

"No," Meredith said, looking away. "She can have lunch with whoever she wants to. I don't care."

George and Izzie looked at each other but didn't comment. Cristina looked at her intern for a moment, then said, "Whatever. But she really isn't that bad."

Meredith ignored this. "So how about a drink after work? If Derek will let me, of course."

"If he will let you, then yes," Cristina replied. "But even if he doesn't let you-"

"I'll be there." Meredith finished the sentence for her and stood up. "I have to go, I have work to catch up on. I'll see you later."

On her way out she passed Alex and Lexie's table. Lexie raised her hand in greeting with a smile, but Meredith merely looked at her and continued on her way.

"She hates me," Lexie sighed.

"She doesn't hate you," Alex said. "She's just…difficult. Don't worry about it. She'll get over it soon enough."

"Yeah, maybe," Lexie said, but she didn't believe it.

"Why don't we go out for a drink tonight?" he suggested, trying to get her spirits up.

"Even if she doesn't like it?"

"Even if she doesn't like it."

Lexie smiled. "Sure, I would like that. I'll probably need it too."

"And so will I," he said, standing up. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah," she said, and watched him follow Meredith out.

Meredith went on with her work by herself. It was nice to have some peace and quiet. And it was nice to keep Lexie out of her proximity. All she wanted to do was work, maybe a nice emergency surgery, and go out with her friends and get drunk. That sounded like a fine rest of the day for her. No sisters or nagging boyfriends. A break from that would be nice.

But of course she wasn't able to hide from Derek all day. He hunted her down while she was standing in the hallway, talking to Bailey.

"Meredith," he said when he saw her. Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Yeah."

"So what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm going out with my friends, and then going home."

"Great, I can go with you."

"I didn't ask you to come with me."

Bailey cleared her throat to remind them that she was still there.

"And I'm working right now," Meredith said in a final tone of voice.

He sighed. "Fine. I'll find you later."

"I'm sure you will."

He looked at her for a moment then walked away. He didn't understand why he was such a bad guy for caring.

"He's worried about the whole murderer issue, I presume?" Bailey asked.

"Yes," Meredith sighed. "I got the point by now, but he won't leave it alone."

"Well it's nice that she cares," Bailey said. "You're lucky to have someone who cares like that."

Meredith smiled and said, "I'm going to go get these results for you, now."

"Fine," Bailey said, and they went separate ways.

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That night they all got ready to go out. Lexie and Alex left before the rest of them, not mentioning that they would be going to the same place. Meredith did not look happy as she watched Alex leave with Lexie, but she did not say anything, nor did he care.

"Ready?" Cristina asked Meredith.

"I've been ready all day," she said, getting her coat on. "Are you coming?" she asked George and Izzie.

"Right behind you," George replied, and he and Izzie followed Mer and Cristina out.

When they arrived at the bar, the first thing Meredith saw was Alex and Lexie sitting at a table together. She turned away at sat down at the bar. Cristina, Izzie and George followed her. Of course when she went to the bar, instead she found Derek waiting for her, smiling.

"Hello," he said. Meredith sighed and sat down next to him.

"You're becoming stalker like."

"Sorry."

The rest of them sat down too. Meredith looked over at Lexie and Alex for a moment, then looked away when Lexie saw her.

"I should go talk to her," Lexie told him. "I'm rally tired of this…whatever."

"Alright," he said. "But don't expect anything nice."

She ignored him and stood up. She hesitated, then walked up to the bar with her head held high.

She went up to Meredith and stood there. Meredith looked at her for a moment, but looked away quickly.

"What do you want?"

"To talk," Lexie said. "To you. I think it would be good if we just sat down-"

"Look, Lexie. I don't want to talk, not now, not ever. I'd be much happier if you just went over there with my friend that you decided to steal to get-"

"Alex and I have nothing to do with you. I can be friends with whoever I want to be friends with."

"Yeah, and he just happens to live with me-"

"I'm your sister, Meredith, whether you like it or not. That is why I think it would be better if we just-"

"You're not my sister," Meredith said, turning away from her. "You just happen to share my name. So just go, Lexie. I don't want to talk to you."

Lexie looked at her for a long time. She then went over to Alex and said something, and walked out. Alex looked over at Meredith. Everyone else was looking at her too.

"What?" Meredith said, annoyed.

"You were a bit harsh," Izzie said carefully. "If you just-"

"Don't. I don't want to hear it."

Alex came over. Meredith was starting to feel more harassed. It was her sister. She could hate her if she wanted to.

"What did-?"

"Drop it. Just drop it."

Lexie emerged into the night air and took a deep breath. She did not understand what she had ever done to deserve Meredith's coldness. She had always tried so hard to make it work between them. But it didn't seem to be happening any time soon.

She turned and started to walk down the street, staring at her feet. Things just sucked right now for her. Plain and simple as that.

She heard steps behind her and turned around. That was the last thing she ever seen.


	2. Chapter 2

When Meredith went home that night, feelings of guilt really did come over her; she just couldn't stop it. She knew that Lexie never did anything to deserve the treatment that she gave her. Lexie was not even a bad person. But that did not stop Meredith from feeling the way that she did. Just because Lexie was her father's daughter. His other daughter, the one that he had been there for, the one that he had raised, the one that he showed that he cared. That was he reason that Meredith hated her sister. And that couldn't change, because it would never change.

The next morning Alex did not say anything to her as he left for work. She didn't care if he was mad at her. Well, actually she did, but she pretended that she didn't. He had every right to be friends with Lexie, or whatever they were. She wasn't a part of her life, after all.

Well if she was friends with _her_ friends, then she was.

Meredith left the house with George and Izzie. Lucky for her, they didn't bother her about Lexie. They didn't seem to care as much, more into their own lives and problems. Meredith made up her mind after thinking about it on her way to work; she would-_apologize_-to Lexie, and then walk away and avoid her the rest of the day.

She hunted down Cristina when she arrived at work. She didn't want to admit to her that she was going to apologize, why she did not know. Maybe it was a dignity thing. But Cristina already knew once Meredith asked her.

"Have…have you seen Lexie at all today?" Meredith asked her awkwardly once she found her at the nurses' station.

"Going to apologize for last night?" Cristina asked without looking up from the chart she was looking at.

"No. Well, yes. Bit just to clear my conscious. It's driving me crazy"

"Uh huh." Cristina looked up at her. "She hasn't come in yet today."

"Oh," Meredith said, wondering if it was some sort of sign that she should just let it go. "Should she be here by now?"

"Yeah. Hey, maybe you scared her off and she doesn't want to show her face here anymore."

"I doubt I could scare her off that easy, or I would have already. If she does show up…just page me. Or have her page me."

"Fine," Cristina sighed. "Now excuse me, I have work to do."

Meredith watched her walk away, then turned around and went on to start her own day.

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Meredith sat down with Cristina, Alex, George and Izzie for lunch later that day. She discarded their conversation, and asked Cristina, "Did Lexie ever show up? You never paged me."

"Because she didn't show up," Cristina said. "I don't think she's coming in today."

"There's no way I really scared her off, right?" she asked to no one in particular.

"No," Izzie answered. "It's probably just a coincidence. Maybe she'll come in later today, change shifts or whatever."

"Yeah," Meredith said fairly.

"Or you scared her off," Alex put in.

Izzie looked at him.

"What? I'm just saying," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I called her last night and she didn't answer. She's ignoring me too."

"She'll get over it," Cristina said exasperatedly. "Now can't we talk about something else?"

George and Izzie looked at each other, then looked down at the tables. They evidently had nothing to talk about. Meredith looked at Cristina instead, but she didn't say anything either.

"Great," Meredith said, and stood up. "I'll just see you all later, since we have nothing better to talk about than Lexie hiding." And she walked away.

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Derek went up to Meredith later that day as she sat by herself, looking through papers with a harassed look on her face.

"Bad day?" he asked her.

She didn't look up. "No. It's fine."

"Did you talk to Lexie?"

"Why would I talk to Lexie?"

"I guess I just assumed that you would."

Meredith looked up at him, then sighed. "I tried to. But she's not here for me to talk to her."

"Oh," he said, after a moment of looking impressed at her effort. "She just didn't come?"

"Nope," Meredith said, looking back at her papers.

"Did you try to get a hold of her?"

Meredith looked up again, looking bothered.

"No, Derek. Now I have work to do. If you want to talk about Lexie, I can give you plenty of people to talk to, because all they seem to want to talk about is Lexie. So you'll have that in common."

"Meredith-"

"I'm busy."

He sighed. "All right. I'll see you later then."

"Okay," she said indifferently, and didn't look at him until he turned away.

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Lexie never showed up to work that day. Cristina said she had paged her, but there was no response. Meredith decided that her talk with Lexie had to wait another day. That was okay, because it gave her enough time to think about what she'd say to her. _Yeah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Bye._ She didn't know if that would be good enough.

"I guess Lexie never showed up today," George said to Izzie as they got ready for bed. "I wonder why?"

"I don't know," Izzie sighed, getting in the bed. "She'll probably be back tomorrow. People do take days off every once in a while."

"I feel bad for her," George said as he got in the bed too. "She's really a good person. I wish Meredith would see that. I think they need each other and just don't know it yet."

"Or Meredith doesn't," Izzie said tiredly.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I hope it'll work out between them."

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"Today," Meredith said to herself as she looked in the mirror. "Today we'll talk and get this whole thing over with. Then I can move on and forget about it."

That was all she really wanted. To get over it and move on with her life. She was spending too much time worrying about this. She had other things to worry about.

But when she arrived, for the second day in a row, Lexie wasn't there. The time Meredith actually wants to be nice to her, she isn't there to hear it. She just wanted to get this over with.

"I have no idea where she is," Meredith told Derek. "I really hope she gets here soon, though, or I won't want to talk to her anymore."

"No one has seen her since she left the bar?" he asked.

"I don't know, no one I know has," she said. "I am not about to call my father and ask him, so don't think about saying it."

"Fine, I won't." He still looked troubled.

"What?" Meredith asked exasperatedly.

"Nothing," he said. "Just…thinking."

It was his paranoia setting in again, but he could not help but to think about it. She had last been seen by herself, at night, with a crazy guy roaming the streets. But he did not planning on telling Meredith that. He knew she wouldn't like it.

Meredith also felt bad about the way she was treating him. He was just trying to be nice, trying to help. But she did not want it right now, so she just pushed him away. Because she just did not want it right now.

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Alex sat at the bar by himself. No one else had arrived yet. Lexie kept crossing his mind. He really wanted to know where she was and if she was okay. He did not like the fact that last time he saw her, she was upset, and now hasn't shown her face in two days. He thought of all the reasons why this might be, and he did like either of them.

The news came on the TV. He did not pay attention to it. But then somebody turned the volume up, saying, "Hey, look at this!"

Alex looked up at the screen.

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Meredith and Derek were just about to leave and join Alex at the bar when he found them instead. Meredith didn't like the look on his face when he tracked them down. He looked bothered, even kind of scared.

"What's up?" Meredith asked him, frowning.

Alex looked from her to Derek, like he didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. But in all truth he did not want to say it. He'd rather be anywhere right now then facing Meredith Grey.

"Um," he said awkwardly, trying to find the right words to say, but there were none.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked, also sensing trouble.

"They-" Alex looked away from Meredith for a moment. He looked back at her impatient face and said, "They found Lexie."

"What do you mean, they found Lexie?" Meredith said, confused. "Who found her?"

"Oh my-" Derek started to say, then looked away.

Meredith looked from one to the other.

"What do you mean?"

Neither of them said anything. Meredith was starting to feel frightened by their reactions.

"Alex?"

He looked at her for several moments. Then he said, in an apologetic voice, "He got her."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate it. I hope that everyone is enjoying the story so far. Review and tell me what you think, and I love to hear your ideas. Rosalie

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Meredith sat on her bed by herself, looking at her feet. She had been sitting that way for a while, and didn't plan on moving any time soon. She was very confused, and trying to absorb everything that she had heard, but it wasn't going very well. It wasn't clicking in her mind. I mean, she was Lexie, and she was annoying, and yes she made her impatient, but she was there, and Meredith was almost used to that. Just the fact that she wasn't, and wouldn't be there…that was just crazy.

"Crazy, right?" she said to the empty room, but no one answered her. The room was dark and it slightly freaked her out. But she did not feel like getting up and turning the light on. She was almost afraid to, like someone would jump out at her and take her like they did to Lexie.

Downstairs, Derek, Alex, George, Izzie and Cristina were all sitting in silence, all thinking about what had happened. It seemed so unreal; you heard of it happening to other people, but you never expected it to actually happen to someone that you know. They did not even want to think about it. It was too horrible to imagine, especially right now. Ever, even.

They all thought of the last time they saw her, for they all had been there. Meredith thought about it more than any of them did, even Alex, who could think of hardly anything else. He should have run after her when she left like that. He should've known better. But he just let her go, out into the night by herself. And she couldn't have been out there that long. If he would have just followed her. Then they all wouldn't be sitting there, trying to figure out what to do.

Derek remembered thinking about the possibility that this had happened. Of course he just thought he was being paranoid again, like Meredith kept saying. Yet he was right. The unspeakable had happened. He wondered what this was going to do to Meredith. He really didn't know how exactly was going to effect her. They hadn't been close, and they hadn't even known each other for that long. But they were still sisters. And Meredith was still the one that had caused her to walk out into the night by herself.

Meredith thought of this as she sat in the dark. She wondered if she hadn't yelled, maybe just told her off nicely, this wouldn't have happened. She already knew the answer to that; of course it wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't have run out like that. She probably would have left with Alex and ended up at her house, as much as she disliked it.

What had been the big problem with Lexie anyway? What had it really been? She never did anything wrong. She was just there, and that was enough for Meredith to hate her. That wasn't very cool, not at all.

_So just go, Lexie. I don't want to talk to you_.

That was the last thing she said to her. That was the last thing she left with. Lexie had died, hating her, and thinking Meredith hated her back.

There was a knock at the door. Meredith did not move or say anything. She was in no mood to speak to anyone. Who knows, she could say the wrong thing and they'd walk out just to get slaughtered by some crazy guy and also die hating her.

But the door opened anyway without permission. Meredith's eyes traveled up for a moment, but then she looked back at her feet. Derek sat down at the end of the bed and tried to catch her eye, but it didn't seem to be working.

"Meredith?" he said gently, but she ignored him. He wondered how he'd get her to talk. She probably would only talk to her friends, like she always did. But he at least had to try. He could not stop himself. She needed him, whether she liked it or not.

"I'm guessing you don't feel like talking anytime soon," he said, and still got no response. He wondered if she even heard him, or if he was completely tuned out. He did not know what it would take for her to open up to him. But then she did.

"I yelled at her, Derek," Meredith said in a hollow voice without looking at him. "And she didn't deserve it but I did it anyway because I felt that I should. And then someone grabbed her off the streets. How messed up is that."

He looked at her sadly. He could not imagine how she felt. The worst possible thing that could happen did, and now she had the weight of this guilt on her shoulders.

"It isn't your fault," he said carefully. "You had no way of knowing that she-"

"If I wouldn't have yelled at her, she wouldn't have run out there, and she wouldn't have been beaten to death."

He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't, because that same thought was currently going through his mind, as much as he wished that it wouldn't. She looked at him with a lost expression, a confused, helpless expression.

"I yelled at her, Derek," she said quietly, "and now I can't take it back."

He put his arms around her, and to his surprise, he did not fight him, but embraced him back and held him tight.

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The next morning Meredith got ready for work, despite the others saying that she should take the day off, or at least some time. She refused, said she was fine, and told them to leave her alone. When she arrived at work, many people seemed to be in discussion about Lexie and what had happened. Many people looked at Meredith as she passed, but Meredith ignored them all and acted like she was oblivious to the world around her.

The room was quiet as the residents got ready to start their day. Alex left before them all and never said a word to anybody. Meredith watched him go, and for a moment had the urge to speak to him, apologize or something, but he left before she was able to. Izzie watched Meredith's gaze, and then went up to her and spoke hesitantly.

"Mer, if you want-"

"No, Izzie."

Izzie closed her mouth and went back over to George. She whispered something to him, and he looked over at Meredith for a moment then quickly looked away. They then left together, and Meredith didn't say anything to them about talking about her behind her back. Everyone else was doing the same thing anyway. Cristina and Meredith were left in the silent room together. Cristina cleared her throat.

"So," she said.

"Yeah," Meredith sighed.

"I know you-" Cristina looked at her for a moment. Mer looked back, and they simply stared at each other for several moments until Cristina looked away.

"I should go, I have interns to-" She stopped again and there was another awkward silence. Cristina seemed to debate whether she wanted to try and say anything again, but obviously decided against it and left the room, leaving Meredith by herself.

Meredith sighed as she stood in the silent room. She did not like the silence, because when it was silent thoughts filled her mind, and she didn't feel like thinking any longer. After she pulled herself together, she left the room, and found Bailey standing there, apparently waiting for her. Meredith looked at her for a moment, and then turned away with no desire to speak to her.

"Grey," Bailey called after her, and Meredith stopped. "If you-" she caught up to her "-if you need to-take anytime off, or- anything, you-"

"No," Meredith said, turning around t o face her. "I don't need anything. Nothing you can give me at least. And time off won't do me any good, trust me. I just want to be here for now. Whatever."

Bailey was looking at her in an almost pitying way, and Meredith did not like that. She turned away from her and continued to where she was going.

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Many people did indeed talk about Lexie that day and what had happened to her, making it hard for Meredith to escape it like she was planning to. Everywhere she went, Lexie was there too. She could not escape it, and didn't think she was going to.

But the worst thing was not the gossiping people. The worst thing of the day was when her father showed up at the hospital.

Meredith was at in the clinic, looking through some charts, since Bailey refused to let her do anything else. She had been trying to tune out everyone that day, but when she heard his voice, she found herself unable to tune it out.

She turned around, not wanting to see what she knew was before her. But it was indeed the man that was her father, obviously drunk, his eyes red, talking in a hardly audible voice.

"Meredith," he said, stumbling in front of her as she backed away and a couple nurses tried to restrain him without much luck. "Did you hear what happened?"

"I-"

"My daughter," he said with a small laugh, "was found in an alleyway after she ad been killed, beaten to death you know. Did you know that? Can you believe that? And my wife died too, did you know that?"

Meredith opened her mouth but no sound came out, shaking her head. The nurses were saying his name as he fell right in front of Meredith.

"Both of them," he whispered. "Can you believe it?"

The nurses were able to drag him away as he screamed her name over and over, along with Lexie and Susan. Meredith turned away for a moment, and once they were gone, she ran out of the clinic, wondering why this kept on happening.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for all who have been reviewing (I say that too much, but I really mean it). I hope you are all enjoying the story so far (I say that a lot too).

Here's chapter 4.

As much as Meredith would have liked to never see her father ever again, she was forced - well, she forced herself- to see him anyway. It was Lexie's funeral. She didn't plan on going at first, but then she felt obligated too. She was her sister after all, as much as she hated to admit it…and she felt that she owed her an apology. Apologizing to people who have died wasn't a thing she did all too often, especially someone she happened to be related to. But it was the right thing to do. Or she hoped. And she also hoped that this time her father would not blame another death on her, though this time she fully deserved it in her opinion.

When she woke up that morning, it was dark and dreary, like many days in Seattle. But today it was very dark and very dreary. Others might not see it, but Meredith did. It took her a while to get ready, probably because she kept on doubting herself and telling herself that she was insensitive. When she was finally ready to start the day, she went downstairs and found Alex sitting by himself, also dressed for the occasion. He looked up at her. They looked at each other for a few moments, until Meredith looked away, unable to look at him any longer.

"Are you getting a ride from me?" he asked her.

She didn't say anything at first. She debated whether or not she wanted to go and see Derek first. Part of her did, and part of her didn't.

"Yeah," she decided. "If you can."

"I can," he said as George and Izzie came into the kitchen. They looked at both Meredith and Alex, looking somber in their dark clothes. Izzie looked back at George for a moment, then said, "So you guys are okay?"

"Yes," Meredith and Alex said in unison.

"Are you really?"

"Yes."

Everyone knew that they weren't, but Izzie took the hint that they weren't going to say anything so she gave up. She sat down at the table with them and looked from one to the other, but no one spoke until Alex stood up and said, "We should get going."

"Yeah," Meredith agreed, also standing up.

"You're going together?" Izzie asked.

"Yes," they said for the final time, and left the room together.

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Back at the hospital, people were back to whispering, as it was the day of Lexie's funeral and obviously time to gossip again. It was best that Alex and Meredith were not there to hear all the people in the hallways, most of them not that sorry, though they claimed they were; they thought it was more interesting than anything.

"Alright," Cristina said as she faced her interns, who were sincerely sad about what happened. They did not want to speak, unlike anyone else in the hospital. It went to show who really cared. "I know it's a hard day, so if any of you would…like to take an easy for the day, it's fine. I'll page you if there's an emergency."

They all looked at her like they had never seen her before. Never had she been this nice to them. It was a whole different side of her; one that they did not know existed.

"So go," Cristina said impatiently, and they quickly scattered. She turned around to look for Meredith, for she had not told her her plans. But she had not yet seen Meredith, so she figured that she had left for the funeral. That was a bit surprising, as far as Cristina was concerned, since Meredith felt everything was her fault. You'd think that she'd rather one away and hide rather than face her family and what had happened.

"Stevens!" Derek said as Izzie passed him in the hall. "Where's Meredith at?"

"She went to the funeral," she told him. "She and Alex went together, but they'll be back here later." She looked at him for a moment. "She didn't tell you."

"No," Derek sighed. "I just wasn't sure what she was doing. Thank you."

"Yeah," Izzie said as he walked away. She felt bad for him. She wished that Meredith wouldn't push him away like she did. But Izzie did not know if she herself would be any different. And she hoped that she wouldn't have to find out.

George came up to her, passing Derek on the way. He looked back at him for a moment, then said to Izzie as he reached her, "He was looking for Meredith?"

"Yeah," she said. "I wish all these people weren't talking around here. I mean I know that they're going to and there's no stopping it. But I just wish that they wouldn't."

"Me too," he agreed. "I mean I really didn't know her that much, but she was really a good person. She was kind of…awesome," he added with a smile.

"Okay," Izzie said uncertainly.

"I told her that," he explained. "One day when we were talking. But it's true, as far as I'm concerned."

"I trust that you're right," she smiled. He smiled back for a moment, then became more serious.

"What?" Izzie said exasperatedly, knowing what he was going to say.

"I don't want you to go out alone," he said seriously. "And I mean it, not until they catch this guy."

"George-"

"Look at what happened to Lexie, and those other girls. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to take that chance. With any of you, trust me I'll say this more than once today. Just please, understand what I'm saying."

"What if they don't catch him? I'll just never be able to walk outside ever again?"

"I'm sure they will, if this keeps going on he'll make some sort of mistake-"

"You don't know that. People get away with it all the time."

He looked at her for a few moments, then looked away. "I'm going to find Cristina. And I'm serious."

"Okay," she sighed, and walked away.

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Derek sat outside by himself, waiting for Meredith to arrive. He was sure that she'd come back to the hospital when everything was done, because she wouldn't be able to stand the silence of home. Someone stood in front of him, but Derek did not look up.

"She went to the funeral, I hear."

"Things do spread around quickly."

"Is she…okay?"

Derek looked up at him. "What do you think? Are you telling me you didn't hear what all happened?

"I did," Mark admitted. "I was just trying to be nice."

"Well she's not okay," Derek said, "and I'm waiting for her, so if you could just go."

Mark stood there for a moment, then gave up and walked way, leaving Derek there by himself.

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Meredith and Alex arrived with many others, which made them both uncomfortable. Meredith tried to think about how she was related to some of these people, but it was too strange of a thought to seem real.

They got out of the car together. They simply stood there for a moment, second-guessing the situation.

"So, are you ready?" Alex asked, though he sounded uncertain himself.

"Yeah," Meredith sighed, knowing she had to go whether she was ready or not. "And if you see my father, make sure you tell me so I can go the other direction."

"All right, whatever," Alex said, and he really didn't blame her. He probably wouldn't want to see him either if he was in her situation.

But Meredith was not able to escape her father like she planned. She did for a while, during the service itself and afterwards. She saw him, so she made sure she was somewhere that he wouldn't see her. It was when they were leaving that Thatcher seen his daughter, while he was standing with Molly, who had seen, Meredith before and hadn't mentioned it.

"Meredith," he said loudly when he saw her, and she stopped, closing her eyes. Alex looked back at them and tried to think of a way to get her out of it, but it seemed to be too late.

Her father came over. At first she did not turn to face him, but she grudgingly forced herself to.

"I'm glad you came," her father said grinning, which she did not understand how he could grin like that. "I'm sure Lexie will have…would have been happy."

"Yeah," Meredith said quickly, wanting to get away from her drunken father very much. "But I'm just leaving."

"I don't mean to scare you away-"

"You're not, I just have to-"

"I know you don't want to be here-"

"I didn't say that-"

"But I-"

"We have to go," Alex said firmly, grabbing Meredith's arm. "I'm very sorry that this happened to your daughter."

"Me too," Thatcher said and laughed. "Everybody keeps dying, don't they? And you," he said, looking at Meredith, "aren't you always there?"

She looked at him with a frightened, accused expression. "We have to go," Alex said again, and pulled her away.

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Derek saw Meredith and Alex approaching and stood up. Alex looked at him, though Meredith didn't. "Meredith," Derek said as he came closer. "How'd it go?"

She said nothing. "It was fine," Alex told him. "I'll see you later," he added to Meredith.

She wished that he would pull her away again; she wanted rescuing from this situation as well. She did not look at Derek, but instead at her own feet and stayed silent.

"It was fine?" Derek asked her.

"Yes," she said plainly.

"Nothing happened between-?"

"It was fine," she said firmly. "I have to go see Cristina now."

"Meredith, just-"

"I'll-I'll see you tonight," she told him, and walked away. He sighed and sat back down. One minute she'd open up, and the next she wouldn't. He figured something happened there, and she would not go to him for it. She never did anymore. He wondered what her friends had that she didn't, and how he could get it from them.

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"It was just so…." Meredith sighed as she stood with Cristina in an empty hallway. "I never want to see him again. And I'm serious about that. I can't do that again."

"Yeah," Cristina sighed. "Well now that this is over, maybe he'll leave you alone."

"None of this is over."

"Well the funeral. Now that that's over, maybe he'll stay away again."

"I hope so," Meredith said truthfully. It was sad that she had no desire to see her own father, but she doubted that anyone in her situation would.

"George gave me a pep talk today about being safe," Cristina said, trying to get away from the father subject. "And he'll give one to you too."

"I already hear it enough from Derek, I don't need it again."

"I don't need it at all," Cristina claimed. "I'm not stupid."

"None of them were."

"I'm not saying-"

"I know. I'm sorry. I think I'm going to go home. It's been a long day."

Cristina looked at her for a moment, then said, "Okay. I probably will too soon. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah," Meredith said, and walked away. Cristina stood there in thought for a few more moments, then followed her footsteps.

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Callie made her way up to the bar later that night. She too had gotten George's pep talk, even though she wasn't his wife. But she didn't mind. It actually made her feel good to know that he at least still cared about her. She sat down by herself and ordered a drink. She had left by herself, despite of what George said. She, after all, did not have anyone to leave with.

Mark Sloan sat down next to her and also ordered a drink. She looked at him for a moment, like she didn't understand why he was sitting there.

"You looked lonely," he said.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I've been feeling that way."

"I know the feeling."

She gave him a small smile then looked away. "I can't wait until all this crazy stuff ends. It's too discomforting, especially after it happened to lexie."

"Makes me glad I'm not a young nice looking girl."

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better."

They sat in conversation for a little while, until Callie decided she wanted to go home.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Mark asked innocently.

"No, thank you," Callie said and laughed. "I'm good."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I do."

On her way out she knocked into a blonde girl, neither of them paying attention to where they were going. They both apologized and Callie left. Mark finished his drink quickly and stood up.

Callie left the bar and walked down the street. All was quiet, and she didn't like that at all. She thought of Lexie and how she had been in this same situation a few nights ago. She thought maybe going back actually would be the best idea. She stopped when she saw a dark figure ahead of her. Her heart dropped and she backed away.

"Callie?" she heard Mark say. She turned around for a moment and saw him coming, and when she turned back around, the dark figure had gone.


	5. Chapter 5

For a heads up, I wanted to say that I won't be able to update after Friday, because I'll be away for the holiday, as I'm sure many of you will be too. As of right now, I don't know if that means this is the last of this year ;) or if the next is. Whichever is true, I'll update when I can. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed. Your reviews make me keep going. If you don't review, you should, because I really do appreciate it. Thank you.  Rosalie

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When Callie woke up the next morning, memories of what had happened- or what she had seen, at least- came back to her. It gave her chills to think about it. She knew who that person was. She did not have proof, but she knew it in her heart. That man had been the one that was killing those girls, and if Mark hadn't come after her, she probably would have joined them.

She jumped as Cristina came out into the living room, forgetting that there was another person in the apartment. Cristina looked at her curiously.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just startled me," Callie said quickly, standing up.

"Okay," Cristina said indifferently, and started to make coffee. Callie watched her uncertainly, wanting to tell her- at least someone- what had happened the night before. But she did not mention it to anyone, not even Mark, who had questioned her. Since she had no proof, she felt that she had no reason to tell anyone.

But when she arrived at the hospital, it became harder not to say anything. People were talking again, and it wasn't about Lexie. She did not find out exactly what had happened until she spoke with Miranda Bailey.

"This is what they're talking about," Bailey answered her when Callie asked. She handed her the day's newspaper. Callie's heart dropped as she looked at it.

"He did it again."

"He did," Bailey sighed. "They found her last night, like right across the street from here. It's scary to think that he was that close."

"Yeah," Callie said distantly. "It is."

It was him out there, she knew it. And what was worse, he had probably just dropped off some innocent girl two seconds before. This girl was much like all the others. Callie did not know her, but she knew how she had felt, at least for a second.

"Dr. Torres?"

Callie looked up from the paper. Bailey was looking at her.

"Sorry," Callie said quickly. "I have to go."

"Okay," Bailey said uncertainly, and watched her walk away.

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Derek joined George and Alex at the table as he waited for Meredith to come down. George and Alex had been in an obviously serious conversation when Derek arrived, which he saw as nothing good.

"What happened?" he asked them. They looked at each other for a moment.

"They found another girl last night," Alex told him. "Not far from where they had found Lexie, actually."

Derek stared at him. "It's been a whole two days-"

"They think he has some sort of pattern," George added. "That's how he does it. Every couple days."

"In the same area?"

"I don't think so. I think Lexie and that other girl was just a coincidence. Maybe. I don't know."

They fell into and uncomfortable silence. In not even two weeks four girls had become victims of this person, and he didn't seem to be quitting any time soon.

"So what do we do?" Derek said, looking up at them.

Meredith and Izzie looked at each other as they listened from around the corner, out of sight. It was hard to believe that this was happening. It was scary. For the first time both of them completely agreed with Derek and George. Neither of them felt like walking out into the night ever again.

"Whatever we can," Alex answered.

At this point Izzie and Meredith entered the room. The three men looked at them.

"You were listening," Alex guessed.

"Yeah," Meredith admitted.

Silence filled the kitchen as they just looked at each other, communicating without words needed.

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"Another girl," Meredith said to Cristina as they walked down the hall together. "I mean, can you believe it? Four girls and they have nothing yet. How far is he going to go before he's stopped?"

"I think everyone would like to know the answer to that question, and I obviously don't have it."

She looked over and saw Callie standing by herself, looking almost lost. She then remembered how Callie had been sort of strange that morning.

"I'll see you later," Cristina told Meredith, who looked confused. "If have to go do something."

"Okay," Meredith said slowly, and watched her walk up to Callie and say something. She then went on her way, not really caring what Cristina had to say to Callie. Her mind was too preoccupied with the fact that there was some psycho guy roaming the streets.

"Is something…going on?" Cristina asked Callie awkwardly. She was not used to this sort of thing. Callie looked up at her. It was her chance to spill what she very much wanted to say.

"Don't-don't tell anyone I told you this," Callie said to her quietly.

Cristina, who did not like to hear her say that, said, "Okay."

"I-" Callie looked over her shoulder, making sure no one else was listening. "I saw him last night."

"Who?"

Callie looked at her impatiently.

"Who do you think I'm talking about? _Him_."

Cristina stared at her for a moment, then said with a dawning look, "Him."

"Yes," Callie said, wishing Cristina didn't sound so stupid. "But it was only for a second."

"How do you know it was him?"

"I was right by the place that they found that girl." 

Cristina looked at her in surprise.

"Well did you tell someone? Did you see what he looked like?"

"No," Callie admitted. "That answers both questions, by the way."

"Then how do you-?"

"I know, okay?"

"Okay."

"Please, just don't tell anyone," Callie said pleadingly.

Cristina looked at her uncomfortably. She did not know if she could not tell anyone this.

"Dr. Torres," a nurse called. "We need you down in the ER."

Callie looked at Cristina with a one last _please_, and then followed the nurse away.

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Alex sat by himself in the gallery, not even watching the surgery below. He was trying to focus on it, but it wasn't working well. His mind kept on wandering back to Lexie. He wished that she were still here. He wished he could have stopped this from happening to her. She hadn't deserved it. None of those girls had.

Izzie sat down next to him and looked down in the OR below them. He did not look at her, nor did he feel like talking to her at this moment.

"Are you okay?" Izzie asked. "I know with what happened-"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, cutting her off. "I'm just observing this surgery, so if…."

She looked at him sadly. "If you need to talk about this-"

"I don't need to talk-"

"I think you do. You and Meredith. You guys have been keeping this inside you, and I know that both of you are upset by this."

"Of course we're upset about this, Lexie died," he said angrily, making people look at him. "Now I don't need to talk about this. Right now all I need is to sit here and watch this surgery. So if you could just go."

She looked away from him. All she wanted to do was try to help him, which he knew but didn't want it. She stood up and didn't say anything as she left. He felt slightly guilty, because she did not deserve to be yelled at, but he could not help it. He just wanted to be left alone.

George saw Izzie as she walked past him, looking unhappy. He was starting to get used to people looking unhappy, and wished that for once they could all just enjoy their lives.

"Hey," he said, following her. She turned around to face him. "What's up?"

"I tried to talk to Alex," she told him. "But he wouldn't talk to me. Meredith won't talk either. I just want to help them."

"I know," he said with a sad smile. "But I think it'll be better is you just leave them alone for now. They'll open up when they're ready."

"I hope so," Izzie sighed. She returned his sad smile. It faded as she thought about what she wanted to say to him.

"What?" he asked frowning.

"I'm sorry," she said, "that I've been on you about this over protective thing. I understand why you're doing it, and I'm thankful for it too. I mean four girls…I'm staring to get actually really afraid."

He had been afraid since the beginning. "Yeah, I know. And I'll be very happy if you listen to me for now on."

She smiled. "I'll do that."

"Okay."

"I have to go, but I'll meet up with you later."

"And you'll wait for me!" he called after her.

"I'll wait for you," she called back.

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Meredith looked up as she noticed Cristina looking at her. Meredith looked at both sides of her, then said, "What?"

She could tell Cristina wanted to tell her something but was having trouble doing so. Meredith began to feel impatient and said, "Just tell me if you want to tell me."

"I'm not suppose to, but I feel like I should," Cristina said quickly.

"Okay," Meredith said slowly. "Well tell me then."

"Callie saw the guy last night."

The words fell out of her mouth quickly before she could really think about it. Meredith looked at her in shock.

"She seen-?"

"Yeah," Cristina said in a hushed voice. "But I'm not supposed to tell anybody."

"Where did she see him?" Meredith asked, ignoring the last part that her friend said.

"Right by where they found that other girl. But she didn't _see see_ him I guess. But she's sure she did. And under the circumstances, I'm pretty sure she did too."

Meredith looked away from her and the thought of how close Callie possibly came to getting caught by the man who killed her sister. She did not want to imagine that happening to Callie. Or anyone, for that matter. She did not want to lose another person she knew to this man's hands.

"Don't tell her I told you," Cristina said firmly.

"Yeah," Meredith said distractedly. Cristina felt bad that she had disrespected Callie's wishes, but she just had to tell someone.

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Derek sat down next to Meredith as she sat by herself in the cafeteria, deliberately avoiding her friends. She looked at him as he joined her, wishing that he wouldn't. She was trying to make it clear that she was trying to escape people. He was sure that he could see that.

"How are things going today?" he asked her.

"Better, I think," she sighed.

"Then why are you hiding over here?"

she gave him a sarcastic smile. For a moment she thought about telling him about what happened to Callie, but she changed her mind, knowing that she shouldn't.

"Do you have any surgeries I can scrub in to?" she asked instead. "I've been out of the OR for way to long. OR time is what I need. It'll make me feel much better."

He observed her for a few moments, then said, "Fine. I have a craniotomy later today. I'll page you when I need you.

She smiled. "Sounds good to me."

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Meredith and Alex sat across from each other at the kitchen table, not looking at each other. Izzie was standing in front of them, looking pleased somehow.

"You both need someone to talk to, whether you say you don't or not," she said, looking from one to the other. "You both have been affected by what's happened to Lexie. So who better to talk to than each other."

Meredith and Alex looked at each other.

"I'll go now," Izzie said pointedly. "You two can go a head and have your little discussion."

She left the room. Alex and Meredith exchanged grins.

"She's trying way too hard," Meredith said, shaking her head.

"I know," he agreed. "You think she'd just listen after a thousand times of telling her no."

"She's Izzie," Meredith sighed. "She won't be happy until she gets what she wants."

They looked at each other a while, their smiles fading. Their eye contact then broke when they realized that Izzie was right.

"It wasn't your fault," Alex said. "I know you think so but it wasn't. it was no more your fault than mine. I let her run out into the night by herself. I should have followed her. She was upset and…but I didn't. I let her go."

Meredith looked at him. He stared back at her. She was almost surprised that he said that, like she didn't expect to hear it from anyone else but herself.

"What was she like?" she asked him. "I mean…you know."

"She was…a lot of things," he said thoughtfully. "She was kind, and compassionate. She was a really good person. She'd do anything for anyone."

Meredith managed to smile. She did not know why. It was more sad then anything…but in her own way, Meredith was proud of her sister…or proud to be her sister.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days before

_He dropped the last girl off, quietly and carefully. He was getting quite good at this skill; even he was unsure how he got away at it every time. He looked after the girl for a moment, admiring how cooperative she had been. Most of the girls fought like hell, but this girl went right along with everything…maybe she thought if she did, he'd let her go. That was a mistake. The girl before her had been a definite fighter. What had her name been…? Lexie, that's right. _

_He slipped back onto the sidewalk looking straight ahead with no guilt whatsoever. A head of him he saw a dark haired girl walking out of the same bar the other girl had. He stopped and watched her walk towards him. How convenient was that? She was walking right into his hands. _

_Then she stopped too and saw him, at least partially. She looked very frightened, and he didn't blame her. But then a voice came from behind her, calling her name. She turned for a moment, and he seen this as his chance for a get a way; he did not dare fool around with another person around._

_The girl went with the man and they left together. He sighed. Once the girl and her friend were gone, he emerged back onto the sidewalk. He just had to be patient for now._

_And he was. A little while later a blonde girl emerged from the bar, giggling slightly as she said goodbye to her friends. She walked to her car by herself, still giggling. This girl should not be driving anyways. He would be doing the unexpected driver favor._

_He walked up to her as she got to her car. She pulled out her keys, but dropped them, which made her laugh more. He bent down and picked them up for her. He stood up straight and smiled._

"_Thanks," she said smiling back. "I'm just so clumsy tonight."_

"_I know how it is."_

_She put her hand out expectantly, waiting for him to give her her keys back_

"_Can I have my keys?" she asked._

"_No," he said simply. Her smile faded._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_We are going to go for a little ride. And I'll be driving for now on."_

"_I don't under-"_

_Then something must have clicked in her mind, for fear passed over her face and she began to back away. _

"_You don't want to do that," he said. "If you cooperate…who knows. I might let you go." _

_It worked the last time, didn't it?_

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Meredith looked out her bedroom window at the gloomy day outside. She was thinking about what people had been saying; every two days, another girl is found. Maybe that was true. It seemed to be going that way so far.

Someone knocked on her door. She turned her head to the side to see who it was.

"Come in."

Cristina walked in he room. Meredith fully turned around. She wondered why Cristina had knocked. She usually barges right in.

"Hey," Meredith said. "What's up?"

"I wanted to tell you, before someone else told you, I guess. They found another girl last night."

Meredith turned away. Of course they did. They would two nights from now. Maybe every two nights until whoever wipes out all the women in Seattle, and moves on to the next unsuspecting city.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know, some girl who was apparently getting married in a couple days."

Meredith turned around to face her again. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Cristina replied. "They're saying it's true, this two day cycle thing."

"Yeah, I'd say so," Meredith sighed. "Why does this guy keep doing this?"

"He's crazy, I thought we established that already."

"But still, you think he'd at least feel…guilty or something. How can he live with himself?"

"He's crazy," Cristina said again. "Now come on, we're gonna be late."

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Callie looked up at the television screen to see the familiar face of the girl they had found this morning. Last night, whatever. Callie had seen her in the bar. She had knocked into her on her way out. They apologized, and that was it. They probably never would have seen each other again. But instead…this girl had taken Callie's place as the next victim, and she knew it. Callie had seen that man, before this girl had. For once, Callie thought _thank god for Mark Sloan_.

Meredith and Cristina arrived at work together. Derek had to go in early this morning after being paged after a car accident. This made Meredith wonder how close of time there had been between Derek's arrival at the hospital and the killer's victim was found.

"Hi," she said to him when they finally saw each other. "How'd it go this morning?"

"I was in surgery for ever, but we managed to stabilize the patient. He should be okay now. We're keeping him under observation."

They looked at each other for several moments.

"Were you here before-?"

"They found the girl? Yes. I didn't know about it until I was out of surgery."

Meredith looked at the floor. "I heard she was getting married in a couple days."

He looked away and sighed. "It just keeps on going."

They were silent for a few moments, each thinking about everything that had happened.

"We should do something," Derek suggested. "Go out. Something. Try and get away from all this…business. We can go tonight."

He smiled. She could not help but to smile back.

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Mark Sloan found Callie later that day as she sat by herself, going through charts with her mind hardly there. He stood in front of her until she looked up at him.

"What?" she asked tiredly.

"You saw something, didn't you?" he asked her, looking sure. "The other night, you saw something and you just didn't want to say anything."

"I never saw anything."

"Really?"

"Really."

He looked at her questionably and she could tell he didn't believe her. Once he thought something, he had to be right.

"I didn't see anything. I would have completely freaked out-"

"You did-"

"Yeah, you haven't see me freak out. Now I have to go. And stop with this interrogation thing. It's weird."

She got up, taking the charts with her. But he knew, just as he had known that he should follow her out the other night. He had to be right, after all.

Callie seen Cristina as she was escaping Mark. For some reason, she saw Cristina as her…vent, and she didn't know why. Maybe because she needed one, one that would really care what she had to say.

"Hey," Callie called after her. Cristina turned to face her.

"What?"

"Listen to this," Callie said quietly. Oh great, Cristina thought. "I think I have a theory about this guy."

"A theory?"

"So he takes a girl, right? He takes her, but he doesn't kill her right away. He'll…do whatever, who knows. And I don't want to…anyway, after two days, he finishes her off and hides her-well not really hides her, more like stashes her in an alley, then goes and finds his next victim."

"Right away?"

"Yeah, until they come along. He waits for them. So he always has someone."

Cristina stared at her like she as crazy, though she may possibly be right. Callie waited for Cristina to answer her, or laugh at her.

"You gathered this from seeing him the other night?"

"_Sshh_," Callie hissed.

"Sorry," Cristina said, and almost did laugh.

"Yes," Callie said. "He was waiting for someone to come along. It was right after he got rid of the other girl."

She pictured that blonde girl leaving the bar just as Callie did, except she had no one to come to her rescue. If Mark hadn't-

"Callie, hi," George said, appearing out of nowhere. Callie's heart dropped, afraid that he had heard something. She and Cristina exchanged a look, and then Cristina walked away.

"Did I interrupt-?" George asked.

"No," Callie said at once. "It's fine."

George looked after Cristina for a moment, then said, "Is everything alright? You guys-"

"Everything's just fine George," Callie said firmly. "Don't go all paranoid on me again."

"I want going to."

"Fine, then I have to go. I have patients to take care of, and I'm sure you do too."

"Callie, if-"

"Just drop it, George," she said, and walked away.

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"That was actually nice," Meredith said to Derek as they ready for bed. "A night out, just us, no…anything else. It was nice."

"It was," he agreed with a smile. It was surprising to hear her say that, for he did not think that she would enjoy herself at all. "And do you know what's even better?"

"What?" she said grinning, knowing what he was going to say.

"This," he said, pulling her onto the bed, making her laugh. It was nice to hear her laugh like that, actually laugh, because he had not heard it in a long time.

Alex lay by himself in his own bed, staring at the ceiling. He thought of what it would be like if Lexie was there next to him. He knew, of course, since she had been there before, but now that seemed like a whole different lifetime ago. It even felt like it hadn't even been real. After all, she would not be there again. And it was not because she didn't want to. It was because she couldn't.

He sat up and got out of the bed, unable to lie there anymore, not when he was thinking about how Lexie had lain in that same bed with him. He left his room and went downstairs into the empty kitchen, hoping some food would make him feel better. Be did not believe that it would, but it was worth a shot. He rummaged through the fridge for a while, then gave up. He turned around and saw that he was not alone in the kitchen. After his initial shock, he said, "What are you doing here?"

"Your friend let me in. I don't know how you didn't hear me knocking."

She smiled and walked up to him.

"Rebecca, you can't-"

"No," she said. "Don't call me Rebecca. Ava."

"Fine, Ava," he said impatiently. "Why are you here? Do you not understand what's happening-?"

"With all those girls? Yeah, I know. I didn't walk here, Alex. It's fine."

"It doesn't matter," he said angrily. "This isn't the time to be here. You can't be here." 

"You don't want to see me now? I can leave-"

"No, not right now. Listen-" he looked around. "My-my friend, she…."

Ava looked at him for a moment, then understood what he meant.

"Alex," she said sadly, "I'm so-"

"This is why you can't be here," he said determinedly. "Once this guy is caught…maybe. In the morning you can leave. It's for the best, trust me. But I don't want you leaving until it's daytime."

She was still looking at him sadly. She was surprised how he turned her down so quickly and easily. But she also admired him for how much he really cared.

"Okay," she sighed.

Derek lay awake was Meredith lay in his arms, asleep. He was not able to sleep. His mind was too preoccupied. Things were so…unbelievable. He wished that it would all just end. He was afraid for everyone. Lexie was gone…and if someone would have told him that was going to happen, he wouldn't believe it. Because he knew her. She was Meredith's sister. But it happened, and now he didn't doubt that it would happen again. Every two days, they were saying…and that was not a comfortable thought.

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But two days went by and nothing happened. People were not reassured. So it had been two days. That didn't mean anything, not yet at least. But then another day went by, and another, and another…and finally people started to ease up. People started to believe that…he was gone. It was over. It had stopped, and no one had gone missing, everyone was fine. They believed it was over, and that they may finally be safe.

And that was their biggest mistake.

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A/N

So I added another chapter…I had time so I couldn't help myself…and of course I'm totally addicted. I won't be able to update, as I said before, until…next year, you could say. I gave you a kind of preview, so you'll kind of know what's to come. Please review, I love to hear from all of you. Have nice a holiday, and thank you for reading.

Rosalie


	7. Chapter 7

I hope everyone had a nice holiday, and I'm happy to put another chapter on for you again, finally. It's been a few days so I might be a bit rusty so you'll just have to go along with it. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and I look forward to hearing from you.

Haunted-part two

Chapter seven-the day before

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_The room was dark and smelled of mold. It was quiet, quiet enough to hear every breath and beat of the heart. This was not a comforting feeling._

_The more uncomfortable feeling came when his face appeared above her. He grinned, a grin that sent chills running down your spine. It was not a smile of friendliness or good humor; it was the kind of smile someone got from enjoyment of suffering._

_"I admire you, sis," he said in a quiet, whisper of a voice. "You care about your friends, your family. You're a good person. It's sad that it has to end this way."_

_"It's sad."_

_"Well, not for me, of course. But for others it will be. I've seen it with all the other girls. I saw you after the other girl. You felt so…well I guess you know, don't you?"_

_She said nothing, but she hated the man above her more than she had ever hated anyone in her life. She wished she could just hit him again, but this time hit him much harder. If any person deserved it, it was him._

_"You're going to die now, just like all the others. And there's not a thing you can do about it. You will beg for it, just like every other girl did. You will beg, sis, you will beg for death."_

two days before

Two weeks had went by and nothing had happened. no girls were reported missing, and no girls were found in alleys. It seemed that everything really might have ended. maybe he left. maybe he felt that he was getting in over his head and was afraid that he'd be caught (even though that was no where near close to happening, and he of course knew that). But people didn't. They wanted to believe he was gone. They needed to believe that he was gone. They needed to go back outside again without fear (though they all would have fear for a very long time).

So then, he was gone.

One of the few scattered people who still believed that the man was out there was Derek Shepard. he was still protective of Meredith, no matter how many times she told him it was all over. He didn't seem to care very much what she said. Because the fear in him was still there, and he could not bear to think what could happen to her if he went on with everybody else, and it planned to be a big mistake.

"When are you going to finally believe that this is all over?" Meredith asked him exasperatedly as they walked into the hospital together. "I mean nothing has happened in two weeks, Derek. Everything has been quiet, everything has been fine. Why can't you just see that as a good thing? Stop worrying so much."

"I can't," he said seriously. "I'm sorry but I'm still not convinced."

"And what will it take for you to become so?"

He smiled. "I don't know yet. Just let me be the over protective boyfriend for a bit longer."

She smiled back. "I guess it's better than not caring."

"Thank you."

"But it's still plenty annoying!" she called after him as he kept walking and she went her separate way. He turned back and smiled again but didn't say anything. She shook her head and walked over to talk to Cristina.

"McDreamy giving you problems?" she guessed, not looking up from the charts she was looking through.

"Yeah," Meredith said, joining her and looking at the chart, until Cristina noticed this and blocked it from her view protectively. "He's never gonna stop, I swear."

"That sucks for you." Cristina closed the chart. "He'll get over himself eventually."

"I just wish I knew when eventually was."

A man came into the ER with a nasty cut on his hand. That was as much action Izzie got for the day. She hated slow days, and today was definitely a slow day. Her interns followed her as she went up to the man and examined his hand.

"So how'd you do this?" she asked him.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he answered.

"Trust me, I've heard my fair share of strange stories. You're going to need stitches," she said, looking up pointedly at one of her interns. "So-"

"Stitches are below you, are they?" he said. "Have to get one of these guys to do it for you. Can't be seen doing stitches now, can we? All the other boys are girls might laugh."

She looked at him in surprize, her eyebrows raised.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. But my interns-"

"Have no dignity, yeah yeah," he sighed, and now they looked offended too.

"Fine," Izzie said. "I will give you the stitches." She looked up at her interns. "Why don't you go see if Bailey needs help in the clinic?"

They said okay and left, whispering to each other as they did so. Izzie looked at the man for a moment.

"Well Mr. McCormack-"

"Dorian," he said. "You make me sound too official."

"Okay, Dorian," she said. "I'm just going to-"

"You look very familiar," he said thoughtfully. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," she said. "If you've come here before you might have seen me. Or if you go to Joe's. But I don't think I've ever met you."

"I've met a girl or two at Joe's before," he said with a grin.

"I've heard similar stories," she said, looking up at him. he was still grinning. His grin sent chills running down her spine. It wasn't a grin that seemed to go along with good humor.

"So, tell me about her."

"Who?" Alex asked, looking up at her.

"Your friend. The one that..."

He stared at her for several moments. She stared back. Her face was slightly hidden by the darkness of the on-call room, but he could tell she was serious.

"Well she worked here-"

"I figured it was her."

He was silent for a moment.

"She was a friend of mine's sister. She hadn't been here all that long. She was an intern still. She was nice."

"She was nice?" Ava repeated. "That's all you can say?"

"Look, what do you want me to say?" he asked angrily.

"Alex-"

"She was nice yes, and she didn't deserve what she got. And I'd rather not talk about this. It isn't your concern anyway."

"I'm sorry, I just thought maybe-"

"Well you were wrong."

They fell into a n uncomfortable silence. She was looking at him sadly, but he did not know this; he was too busy staring down the floor.

Callie was walking down the halls, her mind preoccupied, thinking of the things that she still had to do. She had a surgery at three, and then afterward she'll have to-

She stopped suddenly as a man passed her. they locked eyes for a second that seemed like several long moments. She looked after him, but he was smart and kept on going. He noticed the dark haired girl more clearly than she noticed him, but he knew that if he made any sign of recognition, it would not help him at all.

Callie kept looking back even after he was gone. The man looked so familiar, but it was as if she had seen him in a dream, or possibly a nightmare. Then she remembered all the things she had to do and continued on her way, though the man's face still haunted her.

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Meredith and Cristina decided tonight would be a good enough night for a drink and left together for a well deserved night of drunkenness. Ava had left to go back home after Alex had interrogated her and told her that she hardly had the right to be there when she had a family waiting for her at home. Izzie met up with George before she left to tell him goodbye.

"I'm just going to go home," she told him; he was on-call for the night.

"You're not going with Meredith and Cristina?" he asked her.

"They already left," she said. "So I'm just going to go. I don't feel like drinking tonight. I feel like sleeping."

"You're going out by yourself?"

"George," she said exasperatedly; he was no more assured than Derek was that this was all over. "It's fine."

"Why don't I just go out with you-"

"I don't need you to walk me to my car, George. Plus you're supposed to be in here."

"Izzie-"

"Look," she said, and took out her cell phone. A moment later his rang. He managed to Grin and answered it.

"I am going down the hall," she said, backing away. "And now I'm going to turn he corner and get in the elevator."

"Very funny," he said as she disappeared from sight. He looked around for a window wit ha clear view of the parking lot.

"Now I'm going to go outside," she said, and sure enough a moment later he could see her in the parking lot below.

"So I see," he said, and she looked up and spotted him waving at her.

"Now who's the funny one?" she said with a smile. "And look, I'm outside all by myself."

She indeed reached the car by herself with no problems.

"Just like I said I would," she said, finding her keys. "And-"

Then George heard another voice.

"I remembered where I've seen you before."

Izzie jumped and turned around. George gripped the phone tighter.

"What-?"

"It's alright, he's my patient," she told him. "Is it your hand?" she asked him.

"I remembered where I saw you," he repeated, and came closer, wearing his chilling smile. She backed away.

"I don't-"

George left the window and ran down the hall; he did not care if this man was her patient or not.

"Get in the car."

"What are you-?"

She screamed and George's heart temporarily stopped. The phone made a clanging sound, announcing it's departure from Izzie's hand. George ran as fat as he could until he emerged into the cold night air. He looked around desperately and ran over to where the car had been. But it was not there; all the was there was a cell phone that he was currently still on the line with and Izzie's bag.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you everyone who reviewed, as usual. I hope you're enjoying the story. I walked in the cold snow to the library to write this for you. I really do care :)

These next-or last chapters, I could say-might be hard for me to write, and they're sort of complicated, so bear with me. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Please review and let me know what you think.

Chapter eight-day 1

People all have fear. One of those fears branch off to being alone. There are many ways that you can be alone; you could be in a room full of people and still be alone. You can be by yourself and be alone.

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George ran back into the hospital, his mind running so quickly he hardly knew what to do. His mind was taken over by fear and confusion, and most of all anger.

Many people looked at him as he walked by, but he did not care or seem to notice. He needed to find someone who could help, someone who would know what he was supposed to do. He did not find anyone good enough for that job until he saw Dr. Bailey and Derek Shepard speaking to each other at the nurses' station. He stopped in front of them, and they looked at him curiously as he tried to get his words out.

"You need- I need- you have to-call, call the police, or-I don't know what-"

"Wait, slow down," Bailey said firmly. "What are you talking about?"

"I told her I should walk her to her car but she didn't listen to me, and now we have to do something before he-"

He stopped and turned around. Derek and Bailey looked at each other.

"George, can you try and-what happened?" she asked him.

He looked back at them. "He took her."

They stared at him.

"He took who?" Derek asked, knowing what George was talking about before Bailey did.

"Izzie," George said, and he seemed to suddenly be lost and confused. "He took her right out in the parking lot."

Derek knew that this would happen; it was only a matter of time. The man was not done. He didn't know if he would ever be done.

"Who took her?" Bailey asked, blissfully ignorant, one of the people who was sure it was over.

"You're not stupid, Miranda," Derek said firmly. "I told you that it wasn't over. And I was right, wasn't I?"

She stared at him. He looked back at George.

"Just tell me what happened. We'll call the police."

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Meredith and Cristina left the bar together, with no idea what had happened to their friend. Cristina came home with Meredith, not feeling like going home tonight. The house was quiet when they arrived. Alex was just learning of Izzie's kidnapping back at the hospital, and Izzie was obviously too busy to be home.

"The house is ours, it seems," Meredith said, throwing down her coat.

"Is it a dancing night?" Cristina asked. Meredith laughed and shook her head.

"Maybe," she said as the phone rang. She went and picked it up as Cristina sat down on the couch.

"Hello," she said, and Derek's voice answered her on the other end.

"I've been calling your phone."

"I had it shut off," she said. She paused, for she did not like the tone of his voice. "Is something wrong?"

Cristina looked over at her curiously. Meredith looked up at her, and her expression became frightened. She said okay to Derek and hung up the phone.

"I don't think it's a dancing night," she announced.

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They stopped in the back of an old crummy apartment building. Izzie never came to this part of town; she was too afraid to. She wondered why he was letting her see all of this. Didn't they usually blindfold the person? Isn't that what they did in the movies, so the person didn't know where they were?

But this wasn't a movie. And he was letting her see this because she wasn't going to have the chance to do anything.

"Get out," he said firmly, and she did so. She opened the door and stepped out of her own car, and for a moment she thought this would be the time to run, but he seemed to read her mind and said, "Don't think about it. It would be a mistake."

She heard a clicking noise behind her and slowly turned around to see him pointing a gun at her.

"Now come on."

He came up and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and led her in front of him, the gun still threatening her. They entered the apartment building and the climbed stairs up a few floors. She did not like this building (she didn't like any of it). It was dark and smelled of mold. It was eerily quiet and empty. All the more better for him.

They reached what appeared to be his place. He unlocked the door and shoved her inside. She fell to the floor as he closed and locked the door behind him. The apartment was small and nearly empty. It was hard to believe anyone lived there.

"Get up," he said in a harsh voice, and she did. She stood up and looked around, shaking slightly. She looked back at him. He was smiling, a smile that sent chills through her.

"Welcome to your new home," he said, and laughed.

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George sat by himself in the hallway, staring in front of him without seeing anything. He could not believe that this had happened. It seemed like it were all a dream. He wished it were all a dream. He wished he could wake up and see that none of this ever happened, and that Izzie was lying in the bed next to him.

Someone stood in front of him. He looked up and saw Meredith standing there, looking upset. He looked back down at the floor.

"George," she said, not knowing exactly what to say to him.

"I told her I wanted to walk her to her car, but she wouldn't let me," he said. "She said everything was fine. Everyone thought everything was fine. I was on the phone with her, and I tried, I really did."

"I know," she sighed.

"I ran as fast as I could but I was still too late," he said hollowly. "I was too late and now he's going to die."

"We don't know that," she said at once. "They could find them. I mean-"

"They aren't going to find them," he said. "They haven't had luck so far. It isn't going to start now."

She wished that he wasn't so negitive, but she did not blame him. She felt much the same way. She thought of Lexie, found in that dark alley weeks ago. She did not want to picture the same thing happening to Izzie. She did not want this to happen again.

She sat down next to him on the floor. He did not look at her, but she knew that tears were running down his face, guilt and anger overcoming him.

"I told her," he said, shaking his head. "_I told her, god damn it_!" he yelled, making people around him look over, all in conversation about what had happened. They looked away quickly at Meredith's glare.

"I know you told her," Meredith said firmly, "but this isn't your fault, and it's not hers. I felt the same way she did. Most people did. We had no way of knowing this would happen. It's his fault, George. Him and his twisted mind."

After a moment he said, "Do you really think they could find her?"

She looked at him. "Yes," she said. "I do."

Though that was a lie.

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"Have you wondered where I know you from?" he asked her as she stared into his dark cold eyes. "I seen you before, in a magazine, as you might remember."

She turned red, as though she were embaressed by this. "Bethany Whisper," he said quietly with a grin. "Do you know how many people would love to have Bethany Whisper?"

She said nothing.

"Aren't I lucky that I have you," he whispered, his face inches from hers. She raised a hand to slap him, but he grabbed it before she could do so.

"No no," he said. "That's for me to do to you, not the other way around."

Her eyes filled with tears of hatred and fear. She wished that there was something she could do. But at this moment she was too afraid to do anything. He pulled her with incredible strength, as he grabbed her other wrist as she attempted to fight. His grip on her was so hard that it hurt, and she could imagine him snapping her wrists like twigs. He pushed her onto a big, old bed, which seemed to be the only piece of furniture in the whole apartment. He pushed her back as she tried to get up. She looked into his eyes, and wished that she had just listened for once when George tried to stop her from leaving by herself. It was hard to think of George. He seemed to be in a whole different world. She could only imagine how he was feeling right now. She wondered if she'd ever see him again. And she highly doubted it.

"You aren't going anywhere," he breathed, again inches from her face. "You are mine now."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-day 1

Izzie looked out of the tiny window across from the bed. She tried to imagine what it would be like to be out there again in the real world. Well right now, this seemed like the real world and everything else seemed so far away, so _unreal_. The night had gone by painfully slow, and she had not slept at all. It was quite hard to; she was basically afraid. She was afraid all around, but it seemed worse when she didn't know where he was or what he was doing.

Sometimes.

He came into the room, putting on a jacket. He smiled when she looked at him, and it made her look away; his smile scared her.

"I'm going out for a little while," he announced.

She looked at him again.

"You're leaving me here?" she said in surprise. "By myself?"

He laughed. "You're not going to get out, you should know that. I've done this with every single girl, and not one of them has escaped from this."

She didn't see herself escaping either. He had her handcuffed on the bed, so she was quite unable to get up, let alone anything else.

"I'll be back," he said. "Enjoy yourself."

He left and shut the door. The room was silent. She did not want to be here alone any more than she wanted to be here with him. It made her uncomfortable, being alone in a definitely strange place, with all she can think about is her death that may very well (and probably) come tomorrow. Maybe sooner, if he felt like it. No one knew how he really worked after all. She supposed she would, but she really couldn't announce it to the world at this time.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought of George again, and wished she could see him, talk to him, at least one last time. He probably felt terrible. He had seen the whole thing, or at least part of it. She could just see him arriving on the spot with no one there. Then she thought of what he would do if she did die. She did not want to think about it.

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George sat by himself in the hallway of the hospital, his face in his hands. He had been there all night; he was unable to go home without Izzie there. They had found nothing over the night. George had told the police everything he could about what happened. He didn't feel like it was much help. Nothing he did was much help in his opinion, as long as he was sitting there in the hallway, completely useless. Everyone was talking about Izzie, and when they walked past him they'd start to talk about him too. He'd like to stand up and yell at all of them, but he did not feel like it; he had done enough yelling already.

Derek found Meredith by herself in the stairwell, sitting on the steps as useless as George. She looked up at him as he sat down next to her. He was silent for a moment as they just looked at each other.

"How're you doing?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I wish I could do something. I wish I didn't have to just sit here. It's driving me insane."

"Yeah," he sighed. "But there isn't anything we can do. All you can do is wait now."

"So I just wait until they find her," she said.

"You have to."

"And they're probably going to find her in some alleyway-"

She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it. I can't think about it. First it was Lexie, and now Izzie. What's next?"

He didn't know how to answer that question. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she let him do so instead of pulling away.

"Don't give up on her yet," he said. "They have more information than they did with the other girls, and he can't get away forever."

"Yes he can," Meredith said. She didn't care how much he said otherwise; he could, and there seemed to be a good chance that he would. "At least I didn't yell at her last time I seen her."

He said nothing to this either. Meredith tried to remember exactly what she did last say to her. But at that moment she could not remember.

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"Did you and Meredith go out last night?" Callie asked Cristina when she saw her. Cristina looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" Callie said defensively. "I just assumed-"

"You can't tell me you don't know what's happened," Cristina said disbelievingly.

"What are you talking about?" Callie asked curiously.

Cristina stared at her for a couple moments, then said, "Izzie was taken last night, right outside the hospital."

Callie was shocked. "By-?"

"Yes," Cristina said, cutting her off. "George saw him."

"So he knows what he looks like?" Callie asked hopefully.

"He didn't see him up close, and it was dark," Cristina said, "so not really. But I guess he was a patient here yesterday, so they went through names, and are going to try to find him that way."

Callie's heart sank as she remembered the vaguely familiar man yesterday. She had wondered about him…and now she did too. Was he really the one who…?

"I don't know," Cristina sighed. "This whole thing is so messed up. I really hope they find her before…but when you look at everyone else…." She shook her head. "I'm not going to talk about this anymore. I have work to do."

"Yeah," Callie said distractedly as Cristina walked away. She could not be sure that the man she saw in the hospital yesterday was him, but she felt sure that it was. Even if she hadn't seen him before…he gave off a vibe that said bad. That may make her sound crazy, but it was true. And just the fact that he was actually here yesterday just makes it seem more likely that the man she saw was the man who took Izzie and all the other girls.

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Meredith, George and Cristina stood together silently, not wanting to think about what happened, even though it was the only thing on their mind. George had not spoken much to anyone; he seemed to be lost in his own world of doubt and worry.

"I just can't stop thinking about it," Meredith sighed, looking at the floor. "I want to just forget about it for a few moments, but I can't. I try working and my mind just travels back to Izzie."

"Same thing's happening to me," Cristina admitted. "Surgery usually pushes all other thoughts out of my mind, but it's not working today."

"What if they find her tomorrow?" George asked hollowly. "What if they find her just like they found all the other girls?"

Meredith and Cristina just looked at him. They did not notice the man named Dorian McCormack listening in as he stood not to far away, dressed in scrubs with an attempt to blend in, despite the danger it was to him; people had witnessed him and Izzie talking, and knew that he was one of her patients. But the risk was worth it. It he was quite skilled at getting away with things. If someone recognized him, that was their problem.

"I don't know what I'll do if that happens," George continued when neither Meredith nor Cristina spoke. "I try to stay positive, but with everything that has happened before, that's just not easy to do."

"I know," Meredith sighed.

"I keep on picturing her by herself with that…." He wanted to say man and monster at the same time. "But that's worse. I can only imagine what-"

"I know," Meredith said again, cutting him off. They fell into silence. After a little while, Meredith asked them, "Where's Alex?"

George shrugged and Cristina said, "I don't know, I haven't seen him since last night."

"Me neither," Meredith said. "I'm going to go find him."

Dorian watched as the girl who had been the Lexie girl's sister departed from the group. He remembered seeing her and this Alex person after the whole Lexie thing happened. They both had been upset in different ways. And here he was, torturing them again. What a nice monster he was.

He looked back at George and Cristina, who had been left in an awkward silence. Cristina was looking at George, who was looking at the floor. She did not know what to say to him, nothing that hadn't been said already, at least. Though she actually felt guilty for leaving him, she said, "I have to go check on a patient."

He nodded and didn't say anything. She looked at him for several more moments, but she was unable to any longer. She could not be around this depression. It made everything so much worse.

Now only George was left out of the group. Dorian figured he might be able to find Lexie's sister again and see how the other guy was doing, but decided against it. He knew that he shouldn't stay much longer, because he did not want to be caught because of his own stupidity. He had enough things to tell the girl when he got back, and he was quite pleased at the way things were going here. He walked past George on his way out. George had no idea how close he came to stopping the man who took Izzie and saving her. But he did not look up at anyone, so whatever chance he had with that possibility disappeared.

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"Hey," Meredith said when she found Alex in the gallery, watching Mark Sloan's surgery below. "Are you alright?"

He looked at her as she sat down next to him, then looked away. "Just trying to escape."

"That's not easy," she said.

"No, it isn't," he agreed. Thoughts of Lexie kept on going through his mind. He remembered what it had been like when he found out the news of what had happened t o her. He could not imagine that happening again, especially with Izzie.

"I really thought this was all over," Meredith said sighing. "I was angry at Derek for going on about it. But I really believed he was gone."

"You wanted to believe that he was gone," Alex said. "It gave you your security back, and made things so much simpler."

"I guess you're right," she said, but she knew he was right. That was exactly how she felt. That was exactly how many people felt.

"I just hope that this won't be Lexie all over again," he said, though he had a feeling that it would be.

"Me too," Meredith said, and they fell into silence.

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Izzie heard the door opened and knew that he had returned. Her heart beat quickly at the thought. Though she did not want to be stuck there alone, she didn't want to be stuck there with him either. It was a lose-lose situation.

He came back into the room and smiled. "Hey there," he said smiling. "I just came back from seeing your friends."

She stared at him. "What-?"

"They're all very worried about you," he said. "Especially George. He's a disaster. Walked right past him and he didn't even see me. All he can think about is finding you dead in some alleyway and what that would do to him. I guess he'll find out, of course."

He came closer. She wished right then and there that if he really was going to kill her, that he would just do it now and get it over with so she wouldn't have to go through this anymore. But that was the whole point of this room. To torture them. All her hope had escaped her already. She had no reason to hope for anything more than an easy end.

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George went home that night to the quiet Izzie-less house and felt the true loss hit him. He went upstairs and lay down on the bed, trying to imagine her there with him, thought it just made everything worse. He felt like he had lost her already.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi everyone, and thanks for the reviews you've been leaving (I had to start with something new today). I love hearing from every one of you. This chapter basically starts the end, since the story ends on day two (unless when we get to the end you'll want a bit more, either way we'll have to wait and see) and I hope you all enjoy it. I know it's kinda (really) dark, but it's actually been fun writing a suspenseful story, one that other people really don't seem to write. I like to be different. Though this story hasn't been as good as my first (which sometimes makes me worry) I still like writing it. Please review and tell me what you think of the chapter, and anything else you'd like to say. I'll shut up now. ;) Rosalie

Chapter 10- day two

George woke up the next morning to the sun shining through the window and Meredith standing at the foot of the bed. He sat up quickly and looked around, as though expecting someone else to b there.

"Have they heard anything?" he asked anxiously.

Meredith shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to wake you up so you wouldn't be late. We have to go soon."

George sighed and got out of Izzie's bed. He didn't know if not hearing anything was good or bad. They hadn't found her, alive or…any other way. So it was good and bad. He wished that he could just know something, anything, so he wouldn't be driven crazy anymore.

Meredith let him walk past her out of the room. She was thinking about only one thing: this was the second day. If he kept going with the pattern he had before, if they didn't find Izzie by tonight, there was a chance they would find her in an empty alley, with nothing they could do for her. She looked around the empty room, wondering what she would do if the worst happened. She could not imagine never having Izzie back in this room again. She sighed and turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind her, for she could not look in the room any longer.

Callie watched as Cristina made coffee in the kitchen, neither of them speaking. Cristina knew that Callie was watching her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable. She waited for Callie to just say something, until she couldn't take it anymore. She turned around and said, "Is there something you want?"

Callie seemed surprised when she said this, but recovered quickly. She seemed to think for a moment, then said, "You know how I saw that guy a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah," Cristina said slowly.

"I think I might have seen him again, in the hospital," she said. "The day before last."

Cristina stared at her for a moment. "You mean the day-?"

"Yeah," Callie said. "Only I can't be sure. I never saw him clearly in the first place. It's just too-coincidental."

Cristina nodded. "You haven't said anything?"

"No," Callie admitted, and she looked guilty. "Should I? Would it help? I mean, it's not solid or anything."

"I don't know," Cristina sighed. "But I have to go. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Callie said, and Cristina put her coat on and left, looking back at her one last time before shutting the door.

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Miranda Bailey stood by herself in her clinic, staring down at the paperwork she was supposed to be filling out, but not really seeing it. Her mind kept on wandering back to Izzie Stevens. Things hadn't gone well so far, and every hour that went by, it seemed less likely that there would be a good outcome. Her friends had been upset, especially George. Bailey didn't know what she could do to help them; she didn't think she could help them at all. Tonight they would all find out what the outcome of this all was, at least that's what everyone was guessing. But no one knew for sure. They all had assumed he had left, after all, when he hadn't. He obviously didn't always have to stick with the plan.

Meredith came into the clinic and found Bailey. When she looked up at her, she could tell that she was worried herself, but trying to hide it.

"Do you need any help down here?" she asked, her voice unenthusiastic.

"Uh-yeah," Bailey said distractedly. She looked at her for a moment. "Are you-alright?"

"I'm fine," Meredith said blandly.

"Yeah, of course," Bailey sighed, standing up. "Everyone's just fine."

Meredith just looked at her. Bailey said nothing and motioned for Meredith to follow her, which she did. Meredith now felt slightly uncomfortable, though she couldn't exactly explain why. She just wished that this day would get over with...but then at the same time, she didn't. For Izzie.

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Izzie woke up to the haunting face smiling at her. She jumped, though not as much as she would have liked to. The night before had been bad. He had introduced her to the bat that he assured her had met five others before her. If she some how got out of this, she was sure that she'd have a phobia of baceball bats for the rest of her life.

"Do you know what today is?" he asked her. When she didn't answer he said, "It's day two of your stay here. How does it feel to wake up to your last day on earth?"

She did not answer him. She did not feel like answering him. She had answered him last night, and her answers were never satisfying enough for him. So she did not think answering was a very good idea.

"Silent, are you now?" he said laughing. "Too bad."

She seen him go for the bat again. "What do you want me to say?" she asked desperately, no longer able to hold her silence.

He grinned again. "I had a feeling that that would work." He did not pick up the bat. "It's no fun if you don't talk at all. It's not satisfying."

"Yet what can I say that will be satisfying for you?"

"I can think of plenty things that would be satisfying."

She glared at him then looked away. After a moment she said, "Why did you wait two weeks?"

He sighed. "Because I wanted to. I wanted a little...break."

"Yeah," she said sarcastically. His face changed expression, and she knew that she had yet again said something wrong.

"Don't get smart with me, Beth," he warned her. "You don't want to get smart with me again, you learned that the last time, remember?"

She just looked at him. He looked back at her for several moments, then picked up the bat again.

"I really don't enjoy doing this to you," he sighed.

"Yeah you do," she said quietly, without meaning to. Just one of the many mistakes she made during those two days.

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Callie saw George as he walked down the hallway, staring at the floor, in danger of running into things. She looked after him for a moment, then stopped him.

"George," she called after him. He stopped and turned around as she caught up to him.

"Hi," he said in a distracted voice. "I'm just-"

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"I'm just doing what I can, okay?" he said, almost defensively. She felt terrible for him; he was becoming who he had been when his father was in the hospital.

"Yeah," she said. "If you need to talk-"

"I don't need to talk," he said harshly.

She almost told him she might have seen the guy who took Izzie, but she stopped herself. She did not think it would help at all. Plus, she still wasn't sure.

"George," she said desperately, "I'm just trying to help. I know this is hard for you-"

"Yeah," he said in the same sarcastic tone Izzie used with Dorian. "I'm busy now."

"George," she said again, but he walked away. He normally would have felt bad for being rude to her, but todat her really didn't care. his mind was too preoccupied to care. He still vaguely wondered if this was all a dream. A nightmare. One that he would just wake up from. If only he could wake up from it.

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"Hey," Meredith said when Derek came up to her.

"Hi," he said, kissing her on the forhead. "How are you holding up?"

"Alright," she sighed. "It comes and goes."

"Yeah," he said sadly.

"George is one to worry about," she said. "He's just so...ready to explode inside."

"I know," he said. "He has been since this started."

"And will be until it ends." She paused. "Do you think they'll find her by tonight?"

He sighed. "I hope so. But I don't know."

"Yeah," she said looking down. "I guess we just have to wait. Even though waiting is killing me."

_Killing me,_ she thought. _What a choice of words to use_.

His pager went off. He looked at it.

"I have to go, I'm sorry," he said. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," she said. She looked after him as he departed and said, "Thank you."

He looked back and smiled. That was their last happy-not exactly happy, but close enough-moment.

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Mark Sloan seen Callie standing by herself staring blankly out the window. He considered walking over there for a moment, unsure if he should interrupt her seriousness or not, then decided to anyway.

"What's up?" he asked her, making her jump.

"Oh," she said, quickly recovering, trying to hide embaressment. "I was just thinking about the whole-you know-going on."

"Did they find her yet?" Mark asked.

"No, nothing," she sighed. "George is so..." She shook her head. She was silent for a moment. Then what she had been bursting to say came out.

"I did see something that night," she said hurriedly but quietly.

"What?"

"You asked me if I saw something, and I said no," she said. "But I lied. I saw someone that night." She dropped her voice more and he leaned in so he could hear her, looking curious in a serious way. "And I think I saw that same person the day Izzie was taken."

He looked surprized. "Here?"

"Yes," she said. "But I can't be sure."

He looked at her for a moment, then sighed. He knew that she had seen something that night; it had been written all over her face. The fact that she seen him again and was still here...that amazed him, though he didn't admit it.

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"Alright," Dorian announced, putting his coat on. "I have to leave again."

She did not seem to register what he had said. This time had been worse than the night before; her whole body was crying for an end to the pain. She could not believe that she was going to die this way. She had no doubts about it now; she was going to die, and there was no stopping it. She couldn't even if she tried. She was already on her way there; she could feel it. One more round of his beatings...and she'd be done. She couldn't even move. This was her end.

"Now you be a good girl," he said. "Don't get yourself into trouble."

She still said nothing. He laughed and stroked her face with a single finger. Such a pretty girl. She would defenitely be missed, as would another young face when he got her to come along with him.

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Meredith, Cristina, George and Alex sat together in the lunch room, not speaking much. It was hard to sit together in the lunch room like this. It was as if it emphasised the fact that Izzie was noth there with them. Cristina looked at George, who wasn't eating, to Meredith, who was playing with her food, to Alex, who was staring across the cafeteria with unfocused eyes. She suddenly felt like she was being suffocated. She cleared her throat loudly.

"Okay," she said, and they all looked at her. "We have to talk. This silence is driving me insane."

"Driving you insane," George repeated. "You want to know what would drive you insane? If you watched the person you loved get snatched by a serial killer then had to wait for her body to show up. That would drive you insane."

Cristina stared at him. He stood up quickly, hitting the table.

"I can't be here anymore," he said, throwing his hands up. "I can't be here."

"George," Meredith said, standing up too.

"No," he said firmly, and walked out. Alex and Meredith looked at Cristina.

"Well there you go," Alex said.

"What?" Cristina said defensively.

"I'll go," Meredith said exasperatedly, and followed George out.

She looked through the hospital for a few minutes, but figured that he had actually left. She went out the front doors, looking around as she did so, but she did not see him anywhere. She just stepped out when someone called her name.

"Dr. Grey!"

She looked around and saw a man wave at her. He came over.

"You're the other Dr. Grey, right?" he asked.

"Do I know you?" Meredith asked impatiently.

He held out his hand. "No, but your sister did. I'm Dorian McCormack. I killed your sister."

She stared at him.

"And I think you want to come with me," he added with a grin.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you everyone for reviewing, as usual, and I really appreciate it (as usual). I'm writing this chapter without my little plan thing in front of me, so if it's badly set up you'll know why. I'm too reliant on the stupid little thing. Anyway, enough ranting for me. Here's the next chapter for you. Rosalie

Chapter 11- day two

Many thoughts ran through Meredith Grey's mind as she stood there, staring into the face of a serial killer, one that had also killed her sister. She was momentarily paralyzed, as though she were trying to figure out what was happenings, or if it was real or not. She next wanted to run and scream and shout; but right now she was too stunned to do that too. She wanted to believe that this man was just crazy and had no idea what he was talking about. But she knew that that wasn't true. She knew that this was indeed the guy.

Meredith took a step back. He stepped forward just as quickly.

"I don't think you should do that, for a couple of reasons. For one, you won't get away. It's either play along or I can just leave you here for them to find. Or, you can come with me and we could talk."

"I'm not going to talk to you-"

"Let me say this before you say anything else," he cut her off. "I'm willing to make a sort of deal with you. I've been looking forward to meeting you since the first Dr. Grey. So here's my plan anyway. I have your buddy the blonde doctor, as I'm sure you know." She didn't say anything. "She is still alive. If you come with me, I'm willing to...I don't know, trade you. You come with me, and I let her go."

"Like you'd do that," she said sarcastically.

"Don't get smart," he warned her. When she said this her voice seemed to die; he had that effect on you. He was a seriousness that you did not mess around with. "And do you really want to take the chance of walking away right now free, and when later tonight when you hear the news of your friend's body's discovery you'll wonder, 'what if I would have went with him? Then maybe she would be here.' Do you really want to take the chance?"

She stared at him. Several people had walked by them without any recognition. To them she was just talking a person. They did not know that a serial killer was currently trying to bargain with her. But Meredith didn'nt even notice these people. She was too busy lost in the world of her and Dorian McCormack. He was grinning. She did not know what to do. She knew that if she went with him it would be the most stupid mistake of her life, and she had made a lot of them. But she also knew if she opened her mouth to scream or turned her back to run, he would kill her in an instance and walk away. She could see his hand holding onto something in his pocket, and she did not want to find out what it was, because it would not be pleasant.

So what did she do? She was dead if she tried to fight against him, and Izzie would be too. But if she went with him, and Izzie was spared, she would know everything and get help for her. But that was a stupid mistake on his part. So he's really actually kill her, or he'd take Meredith herself and they'd skip-

"I'm waiting," he said impatiently, cutting into her thoughts. "And i will not wait much longer."

Her heart beat quickly. He seemed to be ready to end her right there;he was starting to pull the gun out of his pocket.

"I'll go with you," she said quickly, and instantly regretted it no matter what the circumstances are. She was basically killing herself.

He grinned widely. "Well I'm happy to hear it. You must behave the entire time, or the deals off. You understand me?"

His voice was firm and threatening; she quickly and quietly agreed.

"All right then," he said, and seemed happy again. "Let's go."

He made her walk in font of him. He stopped her at a car. She had been expecting to see Izzie's car, but it was another. He probably destroyed it.

"Get in," he told her. "And no funny stuff."

She did as she was told. As she did so she wondered if there was any way possible that she'd get out of this. She thought of possible ways, but even though they were possible, she did not see them working out in her favor.

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George sat by himself at Joe's bar, unaware of what was happening to his friend just across the street. He was really unaware of anything. He wish the day would just get over and stop torturing him. Torturing him. That was funny. He laughed out loud. Joe looked at him but did not say anything. But it was not funny for long. He did not- he could not think of what Izzie was going through. He could not bear to picture her in that situation. But despite that unwanted images came to his mind. He could almost hear her voice crying for help, crying for him to stop...crying for George himself. And she had cried over him too, it was true. But he did not know that. Yet he did assume it.

He felt his new found anger coming on yet again and he knocked his drink off the floor in frustration. The glass hit the floor and shattered. Joe looked around at him as George got up to clean it up.

"It's alright, I got it," Joe assured him, and grabbed a broom to sweep it up.

"Sorry," George apologized. "I just-"

"It's fine," Joe said, cutting across him.

George nodded. "I feel so angry."

"Yeah," Joe said, picking up the dustpan full of glass. "I don't blame you. I'm guessing they haven't-?"

"No," George said quietly. Joe sighed. He could not think of Izzie Stevens, such a nice caring person, going through what she going through any more then George could.

"Don't give up on her yet," Joe said seriously.

George laughed without humor. "That's way easier said than done."

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Izzie could hear the door opening again. But he could hear him speaking to someone. Her heart dropped. He had found another girl already. That could only mean one thing for her. It was ending.

It was finally ending.

He came into the bedroom alone. He looked at her for several moments, then took out a small metal key from his pocket. He unlocked one cuff, then the other. Her arms fell on the bed, making her gasp. They felt absolutely dead.

"Get up," he said.

But she could not. The beatings her body had been inflicted with, also with the fact that she had not walked in almost two full days made her unable to.

"Get up!" he said again, more firmly, and pulled her off the bed. She fell to the floor with a crash. A cry of pain escaped her.

"Get up," he said again, and she had not yet seen the expression on his face. It was...mad. Crazy mad as well as angry mad. Not a good combination.

She did not get up, so he grabbed her by her feet and started to drag her. She began to cry but did not fight him. She did not have enough strength to do anything.

Meredith had been thinking of Derek, busy with his patients, completely unaware of what was happening. She then heard Dorian say get up twice. The second time was followed with a thud and cry. Meredith closed her eyes. She could not take this. She could not see Izzie like this.

They came out of the room, Dorian dragging her out. Meredith's heart dropped when she saw her friend. It was absolutely terrible. There were many cuts and bruises on her, and her face was completely white, making the cuts stand out more. But when she saw Meredith, recognition and fear went across her face. She did not say anything, but she really did not have to. Her face said it all.

Dorian stopped dragging her and dropped her legs. She closed her eyes tightly but did not let a sound escape her. Meredith felt her eyes filling with tears and quickly wiped them away, though they were merely replaced by more.

"Say hi to your friend, Beth," he told Izzie, but she did not say anything. He turned back to Meredith. "Don't mind her rudeness. She doesn't like to talk anymore." He looked at her for a moment. "Does it upset you to see her like this?"

"You said you were letting her go," Meredith managed to say. "So let her go."

"Yeah it's gonna take more than opening the door and pushing her out, if you hadn't noticed," he pointed out. "She's a mess." He paused for a moment. "Watch this."

He went back into the room. Meredith and Izzie looked at each other. Izzie was able to shake her head slightly, tears in her eyes too. Meredith knew what she was saying; _you can't do this_. Meredith gave her a sad smile and mouthed, _I have to_.

He came back into the room, holding a wooden bat. He grinned at Meredith, then turned to Izzie. She looked up at him and noticed the bat herself, fear coming back to her face. He raised it up, making Izzie flinch, close her eyes, and brace herself. He looked back at Meredith.

"Look of what has become of her," he sighed. Meredith shook her head, biting her lip.

"Please, don't," she begged him. He merely grinned and turned back to Izzie.

"You'll get your turn, sis," he said, and brought the bat down hard.

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Derek got out of surgery with a sigh. It had been rough, but they had gotten through it. Hours had went by in which Derek was completely ignorant to the fact of what was going on. He had been in fact looking for Meredith when George O'Malley came up to him, looking like he was about to pass out, and Derek's heart dropped as he figured out why he looked that way. It was now dark outside. Meredith had probably gone home by now. Maybe, since it was the second day. Night.

"What happened?" Derek asked him.

"I can't do this right now," George said shakily. "I don't know what to do. I can't...you have to do this. You have to..."

Derek looked at him in confusion, wondering what he could possibly do.

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Still hours before this scene happened, Meredith was sitting in the old filthy apartment, tears rolling down her face as she looked up at Dorian's angry face. She had tried to stop him hysterically, hitting him as hard as she could, though it did not do very much then giving him a mark on his face and a reason to be angry. He had pushed her down with incredible strength. He was much stronger than she thought he would be. And she really thought he was going to finish her off where she lay. But he did not.

"I don't take kindly to things like that, sis," he said, his voice screaming of dangerousness."You will pay for that. But not right now." He turned back to Izzie, who was lying unconscious on the floor. "I have her to get rid of."

"Please don't kill her," Meredith begged. "You said-"

"I know what I said," he said. "But I can't just let her live. If I were to do that, she'd just rat me out and I can't have that happening. I think you should say goodbye."

Meredith shook her head. He pulled her up, which surprised her. She tried to pull away, but he grabbed her other wrist and grasped them so tightly it hurt.

"You will take her place in the room while I get rid of her," he said, pushing her toward the bed room. They passed Izzie. Meredith looked at her as she passed, her heart aching. She had tried to help her. Now she would just be joining her.

He managed to chain her into the bed, though she fought hard. He merely hit her for doing so and told her she better behave. Once she was locked in, he took a deep breath and exhaled sharply.

"I'm sorry I lied," he said. "But I gotta do what I gotta do."

He grinned at her and left the room. She could hear him start to drag Izzie across the floor again. Then the door opened and shut. It was followed by silence.

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When Izzie came to she was already lying in an alley, Dorian McCormac standing above her. He said something, though she couldn't make out what he said. The night was cold and very dark; she could not see his whole face. She closed her eyes again as unconsciousness threatened to take over again. When she opened her eyes again he was holding the bat. One more hit was all it was going to take, and they both knew that. He spoke again, and she was able to hear, "You...this...Beth." She just wanted him to get it over with. She could not take any of this any longer. All her fight was gone, all her hope was gone. She wanted to die.

He raised the bat for the final blow. But it did not come. There was movement somewhere behind him and he froze. He stared at Izzie for a moment, the disappeared. That was the last thing she saw as she fell into unconsciousness again.


	12. Chapter 12

I ended this chapter a little short, but I ran out of time. I'll have to rearrange some things, but I'll work it out best I can. I hope you still enjoy the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you!

chapter 12-day two

George was back at the hospital. He had figured busying himself might work finally. He doubted this though; the hours were counting down, at least it seemed like so to him. He was waiting for someone to come find him and tell him how sorry they were...and that it was too bad that he hadn't walked her to her car.

He had tried to find Meredith, but was unsuccessful. She was the only person he felt like talking to at the time. Since she was not there, he kept to himself and checked on his patients he had had earlier. While he was doing so it helped, until he walked out of the room and reality hit him again.

While George was pointlessly walking down the halls, and Derek was still in surgery, Miranda Bailey was paged from the ER. She left her clinic and entered the ER to find Alex Karev waiting by the doors.

"What happened?" she asked him, looking around.

"They brought Izzie in," he said quietly, as though he did not want anyone to overhear him, even though people obviously already knew. "She...she didn't look good."

"She's alive?"

"Yeah."

Bailey felt relief sweep over her. Izzie Stevens was alive.

"But I don't know if..." His voice trailed off. Bailey nodded, understanding what he meant to say.

"I'll go," she said. She went to walk past him, then stopped. "Does George know yet?"

Alex shook his head. Bailey thought about it for a moment.

"Go tell him. He needs to know."

Alex nodded and went to find him. Bailey watched him go, then went into the room where people were currently trying to save Izzie's life.

When Bailey entered the room she stopped in the doorway. She could see Izzie's face, but it was hardly recognizable. Bailey could do nothing for a moment but stare in disbelief at the girl's usually beautiful face. She pulled herself together and focused instead on doing whatever she could to help.

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Meredith heard the door open again. It slammed shut quickly; he seemed to be angry. This made her hopes go up slightly; her hopes for Izzie at least.

Dorian was mumbling something to himself that she couldn't distinguish. He did not enter the room for a few moments. When he did he pushed the door open with such force that it hit the wall. Meredith was suddenly frightened. He looked utterly insane with rage. All she could picture him doing was coming over and strangling her, his healthy way of getting anger out.

"This is not good, sis," he told her. "This is not good at all. I've just-" He shook his head a paced back and forth.

"What happened?" Meredith asked cautiously.

He laughed. "Wouldn't you love to know what happened." He was silent for several seconds. "Well it's good for your little friend," he said. "Never have I had someone see me like that. Never. I have never messed up like-" He grabbed hair like he was going to tear it out. After a moment he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Okay," he said, trying to be sensible. "This isn't necessarily it. The girl still might die, I mean I smashed her up enough she would have been dead tomorrow anyway. I could run. I mean I really shouldn't take the chance, should I? Yes. I have to leave."

She watched him pace back and forth. It seemed that he did not want to leave. Meredith could tell by the look on his face. He was still trying to get over the fact that he messed up.

"I should have some time, right?" he asked. "She was out of it. We just have to think this out."

"So..." Meredith said nervously. "I just am...?"

He looked at her and grinned in spite of everything. "I remember when your little sister lied in that same bed. She was so scared. She put up a fight at first but..." He grinned again at the look of hatred on her face. "She cried over and over. She told me about you as I threatened her. You should have seen her. She was a babbling idiot who-"

"She was not," Meredith said firmly, glaring at him. "You want to talk about blabbering idiots, look at yourself."

She did not really mean to say that. She pictured him yelling at her, or him giving her her turn with the bat. But neither of those things happened. Instead he grinned.

"You are really something sis," he said, and lightly stroke the side of her face with his finger. He lifted it up and looked at her thoughtfully. Then, moving more quickly than she thought he could move, he raised a fist and hit her, making everything go dark.

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George was walking down the halls, looking at his feet. He felt so alone. Meredith was gone somewhere, Izzie was...He was alone. He did not know what to do with himself anymore. So he just walked.

"O'Malley."

He stopped and looked up to see Alex. It looked like he had been running. George's heart dropped. All he could think was they-

"They found Izzie," Alex told him once he caught his breath.

George stared at him. For a moment he felt like he was going to pass out; he swayed slightly on his feet.

"Wh-what do y-?"

"She's alive," Alex said.

George stared at him like he had heard him wrong. "You mean-?"

"They brought her in not long ago," Alex explained. "They said someone saw her and the guy in some alley. But the guy ran and didn't get to...you know. But George I have to tell you, she's not in the best of shape. I don't know...but she made it past him. If she did that, I mean-"

"I want to see her," George said, cutting him off. Alex looked at him uncertainly.

"I don't know if you should. I mean she's-"

"I don't care. I'm going to see her."

He walked past Alex. He sighed and ran after him.

"We're going to have to get her into surgery," Bailey said, looking at the test results. "She's bleeding internally-"

The door opened with a bang. She turned around to see George standing there, pale and frightened. He looked at Bailey first, then looked at Izzie. His expression changed, and Bailey was sure he was feeling the same way she had; shocked.

"Oh my-"

"George," Bailey said, going up to him and trying to block his view. "You really shouldn't be in here. We-"

Izzie was suddenly aware that it was no longer dark. It was actually quite bright. She opened her eyes to see a blurred shape over her and heard several unclear voices. The shape above her said "Dr. Bailey?"

Bailey looked over at the nurse. "She's awake."

George beat Bailey to her side. Izzie closed her eyes then after a moment, looked up at him. It took her a moment to recognize him. His face was also blurry, but after concentrating as much as she could, she put a name to the face. She tried to say something, but at first it didn't work.

"Hey," he said gently. "You're alright now, we-"

She managed to say his name, making him fall silent. After a few moments she said, "I have...to talk to you."

He looked uncertain. "What is it?"

"Not with all these...people," she said. She did not know why she could not say it in front of them; what did it matter? This was about Meredith, not her.

"We have to-" Bailey said, but George cut her off by saying. "Just for a moment."

She looked at him. She seemed to be considering it.

"A moment," she said. "I'll check to make sure the OR's ready."

George nodded. They left the room, leaving just George and Izzie by themselves.

"Meredith," she said.

"I don't know where-"

"He has...Meredith."

George stared at her in shock.

"But-"

"You have to go, now," she said tearfully. "I know...where you...have to go."

He did not know what to say. He did not know what to do either. He didn't think he could handle this too right now.

"Okay," he said. "Tell me."

So she did; she told him every little detail she could remember. It was hard to think about anything at the moment, so she was afraid that she had left out some big part. But she did what she could, because she knew that there was a good chance that Meredith wouldn't last much longer. If she was still alive.

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When she opened her eyes the smell of mold came back, making her feel sick. It was quiet, quiet enough to hear every breath and and heart of the heart. It was not a comfortable feeling.

The more uncomfortable feeling came when his face appeared above hers. he grinned the grin that sent chills going down her spine. Not a smile of friendliness or good humor; it was the smile he had when he enjoyed the suffering of people.

"I admire you, sis," he said in a quiet, whisper of a voice. "You care about your friends, your family. You're a good person. It's sad that it has to end this way."

"It's sad," she repeated.

"Well, not for me of course," he said. "But for others it will be. I've seen it with all the other girls. I saw you after the other girl. You felt so...well I guess you know, don't you?"

She said nothing, but hated the man above her more than she had ever hated anyone in her life. She wished that she could just hot him again, but this time hit him much harder. If any person deserved it, it was him.

"You're going to die now, just like all the others," he whispered. And there's nothing you can do about it. You will beg for it, just like every other girl did. You will beg, sis. You will beg for death."

She just stared at him. After a moment he sighed and shook his head. Meredith watched as he picked up the baseball bat. Meredith remembered how Izzie had flinched when she saw it.

"I can't bring you with me, as much as I'd love to. But I can't, so we have to do it this way."

He looked at her for a few moments. She watched him raise the bat, and while he did so, she thought of Derek and what this was going to do to him.

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The door opened and Callie came in. George looked around, feeling lost and confused.

"I was-" Callie stopped in the middle of her sentence as she saw Izzie lying in the bed. "Oh my god," she whispered.

Bailey now entered the room. "We're set up to go," she announced. "Dr. Torres, we'll need you once I finish repairing the damage in-"

The machines started to beep rapidly. George's breath caught in his throat.

"Izzie-"

"We have to get her to the OR," Bailey said firmly. "Let's go!"

They left the room, leaving George by himself. Callie looked back at him before she followed Bailey out.

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Derek came out of surgery with a sigh. It had been rough, but they had gotten through it. Hours went by in which Derek was completely ignorant to the fact of what was going on. He had in fact been looking for Meredith when George came up to him, looking like he was about to pass out, and Derek's heart dropped as he figured out why he looked that way. It was now dark outside. Meredith had probably gone home by now.Maybe, since it was the second day. Night.

"What happened?" Derek asked him.

"I can't do this right now," George said shakily. "I don't know what to do. I can't...you have to do this. You have to..."

Derek looked at him in confusion, wondering what he could possibly do that George couldn't. George shook his head and said, "They don't know if she's going to make it. I can't leave. If Izzie dies and I'm not here I..." He shook his head and looked at Derek. "Izzie told be how to get there. I can tell you."

"What are you talking about?"

"He...he has Meredith."

Derek stared at him.

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Meredith lay on the bed, tears running down her face. She now understood why he said she would beg for death. On the inside she was. On the inside she was begging him to stop. She was begging...for it all to stop.

"Well this is it sis," he said, and now took out his gun "It's been fun, but in thirty seconds I will be out that door and be gone. I promise, this will be quick. I don't have the time."

But he stopped. The door had opened. He froze and his eyes got wide.

She had gotten someone after all.


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you everyone who has been reviewing, I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

I have to drop this on you and say this may be the last chapter, unless enough people want one more, then I'll write it for you. Either way it'll be done soon, so please review and let me know what you think.

And if what you want is for me to change the ending, I'm really sorry but I can't do that. I'm sure at least one of you will understand that.

Chapter thirteen-day two

George sat by himself in the waiting room. Nobody had come out to speak to him yet. He was just waiting…waiting to see if she would live. Waiting to see if Meredith would even live. Things were just so out of control. He didn't know how to handle it all. Everything had been just fine not that long ago. Now everything was…unreal. It was like this wasn't his life at all. This could not be his life. He had not done anything wrong. Except maybe not walking her to her car. Then she wouldn't have been taken in the first place. And Meredith wouldn't have been taken either.

Someone came and sat down with him. He looked up and saw that it was Alex. They simply looked at each other for several moments.

"Have you heard anything?" Alex asked.

"No," George replied. "Have you?"

"No," Alex sighed. "And they wouldn't let me go in."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," George said. He paused for a moment. "What exactly happened?"

"He took her to an alley," Alex explained. "He was about to…then someone seen him. He fled. That's how they found her."

George nodded. "Do you think she's gonna be okay?"

"I hope so," Alex sighed.

George nodded again. He looked at Alex for a moment. "Did you hear about Meredith?"

Alex looked at him. "What's wrong with Meredith?"

George was silent for a moment. "Izzie told me she was at the place."

"The-?"

"That he had her."

Alex stared at him.

"What?"

"The guy tried to make a deal with Meredith," George explained. "He told her if she came with him, he'd let Izzie go."

"And she did?"

"She did."

"What was she thinking?" Alex said angrily. "Like he'd just let her go!"

"I know," George said, shaking his head. "I mean I'd do the same thing, but…."

Cristina came up to them. They stopped talking and looked at her uncertainly.

"How's Izzie?" she asked them, looking from one to the other.

"We don't know yet," Alex said. "They're still working on her."

Cristina sighed and sat down with them. "At least she's alive."

"Yeah," George said.

Cristina looked around. "Where's Meredith? I was sure she would be here."

Alex and George looked at each other. Cristina looked at them.

"What?" she asked, looking at them curiously.

"I'm sure she would be here if she could be," Alex said.

She still didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

"She…." George did not want to be the one to tell her this. "She was…taken earlier."

She seemed confused. "What do you mean, taken?"

"By him," he said. "Izzie saw him earlier, before they left."

"You mean- she's with the psycho serial killer," Cristina said slowly.

"You could say it that way," Alex said uncomfortably.

Cristina opened her mouth to say something, but it took her a minute to get it out.

"That can't be true, I saw her earlier today-"

"When was it? When did you last see her?"

"At-" Cristina stopped for a moment as a look of dawning went over her face. "At lunch time."

"Yeah," Alex said.

Cristina didn't say anything for a moment. She looked at the floor.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "She-"

"But there's a chance," George said quickly; it was weird suddenly being the optimistic one. "Izzie told me where they were. So there's still a chance."

Cristina didn't say anything. She could not believe it. She hadn't even really noticed that Meredith wasn't around. She had thought she was just busy. Why didn't she think of something when she hadn't seen he r for hours? Why didn't she notice that there could be something wrong?

Because she didn't expect it. She was waiting to hear about Izzie. She never would have guessed she would have to wait to hear about Meredith.

George looked around and saw Bailey walking towards them. He stood up quickly. So did Alex. Cristina looked up.

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Dorian did not move. He was terrified. For once, he was the terrified one. Meredith felt hope. Someone had come. Izzie must have come through. They both very well may be saved.

"Meredith?" someone called, and her heart dropped. That voice was for once not comforting. Her hope faded; now she was afraid. What was he thinking?

Derek Shepard looked around the filthy old apartment and heard nothing. He saw one open door and headed toward it, calling her name again. From far off, they could all hear sirens.

When he looked in the room he saw something he never wanted to see; Meredith handcuffed on a bed with an unfamiliar man pointing a gun at her.

The man turned and looked at him. Meredith's heart was racing. All she could see was Dorian pointing the gun at him instead and pulling the trigger.

"Look," Derek said cautiously, as Dorian kept the gun pointed at Meredith. "The police all already on their way. They'll be here any minute. You don't-"

"Who are you?" Dorian demanded to know.

"Please don't hurt him," Meredith begged.

"I see," Dorian said, his expression a mix of fear and anger. "You're her man aren't you, come to the rescue?"

"Look," Derek said again desperately, "just put the gun down. It's already to late. You've already been caught. You're not getting away. Why do any more damage then has to be done?"

The sirens were getting closer. Meredith could tell that he was getting nervous. He was also unsure of what to do, which surprised her. He really must have thought that he'd never be caught. He had gotten away with so much. But he had been seen in the alley as he tried to kill Izzie, and now everything was ruined.

Derek was waiting for the man to surrender. He was just standing there. He did not even run, which is what Derek expected him to do. It was too late to leave now; he'd for sure to be caught. The police were now close. They'd be up there with them in a matter of minutes. Derek thought he'd just stand there in shock until the cops took him away. He was hoping that that was what was going to happen. All he wanted was to get Meredith out of here safely. He had to.

Dorian looked back at Meredith. Every second seemed to last a minute. An hour, even. Everything was in slow motion. She did not know if this moment would ever end. She did not know how this was going to play out. She knew that he would not want to just give up now, not after everything he had done. He should be running, trying to flee before it was too late. But she knew that his mind worked in different ways. He was angry that Izzie had gotten away. He was angry that he had screwed up. He needed to make sure that he went through with his plans. He wanted to do it right this time. It was between that and getting caught. It was a hard decision.

"I already let the other girl get away," he said, his voice shaking. "I cannot let that happen again. If I really am going to go down, I want to go down knowing that I finished what was meant to be finished."

Derek and Meredith just looked at him, waiting for something to happen. Derek wanted to charge at him, but he knew that the minute he moved that the man would pull the trigger and be done. But he had a bad feeling that that was what he was going to do anyway. Maybe if he kept him distracted until the police got up here, he wouldn't have the chance-

"You don't have to do this," he said carefully. "If you don't-"

"I've already got my death sentence," Dorian said. "One more isn't going to change that. So why not?"

"But if-"

Meredith knew that it was too late. As soon as she seen his face and it said oh well she knew. There was nothing that she or Derek could do about it. He had meant to kill her, and by god he was going to do it.

"-you just-"

And he pulled the trigger.

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George hung up his phone. He felt incredibly empty inside. This was his fault. All of this was his fault. Izzie, Meredith…how could he live with himself after this? How could he live with this guilt?

"What did they say?" Cristina asked. She was standing in the doorway, waiting to hear news of Meredith. George was sitting in Izzie's room when he got the call. He had just found out that she was going to live…and he had just found out that Meredith wasn't.

"I'm sorry," he said hollowly, in shock. "I never meant for anything to happen. I…."

"What are you saying?" Cristina asked angrily, feeling a rush of emotion inside her, because she knew exactly what he was saying.

"It was too late," he said. He looked at Izzie and thought of all the things Meredith did for her. How would Izzie forgive herself? "He got her."


	14. Chapter 14

For the last time I'd like to thank everyone who's read and reviewed. This chapter is for you, and I hope that you'll be satisfied. I feel I took a chance with this story, since it's not the type that people usually write, not that I know of at least. All of you have made it worth it. Thank you so much for all you've done for me. Okay, I sound stupid now, but I don't care. Because you all really have helped me, and you make me keep trying. So all of you pat yourselves on the back. You made this story happen. And if you hated it, it's all your fault.

Okay, so that will be mine. Whatever.

Thank you again, and I hope to hear from you one last time.

Chapter 14-conclusion

Dorian McCormack had fled the scene quickly; he also had been caught on his way out the door. He was taken into police custody. The people were alerted that the man who had been responsible for the deaths of all those women was caught. So many people were relieved. They really could go outside now. They were free from the danger that they always felt was following them. Things could go back to the way they were. Dorian McCormack could sit in jail for the rest of his life to live with his guilt and only his guilt. Of course he didn't have any guilt to live with, so that wasn't that much of a deal for him.

But not everyone was relieved, not at the price that it cost. The threat was gone, that was true; but so were six amazing women, one of those women being Meredith Grey.

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Cristina Yang was sitting by herself in a dark empty hallway. It was quiet because of the late hour, and it was also unbearable. She was trying to accept what she had learned today. She was still trying to figure out how she had even been taken. She should have known. And now…her person was gone, killed at the hand of some messed up madman who had probably enjoyed every second of it.

The fact that she was gone didn't make sense, it didn't seem real. She was Meredith. She was always there, always sure. She was the link that kept them together. Without her…nothing would be right again. She had been through so much in her life. And this was the way she went.

Why had she gone with him? How stupid could she have been? Like he would have let Izzie roam free after everything that had happened. There was no way. She had wasted her time for nothing. She was smarter than that. She knew better. But her friend was in need. Who knows what he said to her or did. Cristina was sure there was a way he could be persuasive enough. But still. There would always be a but still. If only something could have happened, if only someone could have said something.

Tears that she barely ever cried came to her eyes. She was ashamed of showing this weakness. But she could not help it. Her friend was gone, and she hadn't said goodbye. She just died out of nowhere. She had left her here alone, and now she had to deal with it. She had to deal with it by herself. Burke had left her. Now Meredith was gone. She really was alone.

Callie saw Cristina sitting but herself down the hallway. She wasn't sure if it was wise to approach her or not. Cristina wasn't the type of person to try to comfort…but she didn't think that she could just leave her alone there, not without trying first.

She slowly walked up to the spot where Cristina was sitting. Cristina did not look at her; Callie was not even sure if she even noticed her. She hesitated a moment longer, then said, "Are you-are you okay?"

Cristina jumped, which proved Callie's thought that she was oblivious. She quickly wiped her eyes, so Callie didn't see her weakness. But she already did.

"I'm fine," Cristina said at once.

"I don't think you are."

"Well I am. So leave me alone."

"I know it's hard-"

"No, you don't," Cristina said angrily, standing up. "You don't know how I'm feeling right now. My best friend was just murdered. You don't know how if feel."

"Cristina," Callie said sadly, only wanting to help. But Cristina didn't except it and walked away to find a place where everyone would leave her alone.

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George was sitting by himself at Izzie's side, listen to the steady sound of the machines and trying to absorb everything that that happened in the last few hours. Izzie was alive, and for that he would be forever grateful. But Meredith wasn't, and he'd forever be sad. The mixture of thankfulness and sorrow confused him. He wished that Meredith could be here with him. Tell him what to do. But that was now quite impossible, and part of the problem. He felt his throat start to burn and tried to fight it. He was trying to be strong. He had to be strong, for himself and Izzie. He knew that she would not take this well. She would blame herself as much as he blamed _himself_.

He looked up as she moved slightly. His heart beat quickly. She was opening her eyes, and he could no longer stop the tears that he had been fighting. It made it real. She was really alive.

And Meredith really wasn't.

She looked at him. He smiled but tried to hide his tears, just as Cristina had. But Izzie saw through it, just like Callie.

"Why are you crying?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "It's just been really emotional." He looked down for a moment. "Bailey was able to stop the bleeding. Callie also had to work on you-"

"Callie? I'm surprised."

"Well don't be. She's not that terrible."

"She hates me."

"Well then she doesn't hate you that much."

She smiled. "But you're going to be just fine," he said. "You beat it."

"Of course I did," she said. She stopped and her expression changed into worry. George knew what she was going to say before she said anything, and he really wished that she wouldn't.

"Meredith," she said. "I told you where to go, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"And did you? Did somebody?"

"Yes. Derek and the cops went. They caught him. He's gonna be put away-"

"But Meredith. Did they find her?"

He was silent for a second. "Yes."

"And?" she asked impatiently. "Is she okay? Did they get her out of there?"

George said nothing. Izzie was waiting for him to say something. That fact that he wasn't really scared her.

"George," she said pleadingly. "Just tell me that they got her out of there. Please tell me that."

He just looked at the floor. She felt tears coming to her eyes.

"George please," she whispered.

It took him a minute to look at her again. She now had tears rolling down her face.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice cracking. "They tried, they really did but-"

"George, don't say this."

"But they couldn't do anything for her. They were too late."

"She can't," she whispered. "I gave you the way to go, I saw her there, and she shouldn't have been. He didn't do that to her. He couldn't have."

He said nothing, just looked at her. She could not except that this had happened. Because if this had happened, then it was her fault. Meredith was there for her. So she could save her. And in the end, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't return the favor. She could not imagine Meredith not being there. The world wouldn't be right without Meredith in it. Izzie remembered when Denny died. That had also been her fault. She might as well stay away from people. Then maybe she wouldn't be responsible for anyone else's death.

Miranda Bailey watched them from outside the door. She had this emptiness in her. She had save one of them, and lost the other. It was a miracle that Izzie was alive, that was true. That made things better. But it didn't seem that way right now. Right now it seemed that nothing had gone right. He was caught. Izzie lived. But still it felt that nothing had gone right. Meredith had been through so much…and for it to be like the way it was…she didn't deserve that. Bailey wondered if any of them would really ever accept what had happened. She did believe that every one of them would find a way to blame themselves.

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Alex Karev sat in the empty gallery, staring down at the OR below. Meredith Grey had been killed…dark and twisty Meredith. She was indeed dark and twisty inside, but she always found a way to get through it. She was able to keep herself together. She was a strong, admirable person. Just like Lexie had been. Both of them were gone…that was hard to believe. Both sisters, both young, both killed by the same guy. It was crazy to think that. It was crazy to think that it had happened to either of them. Always there, always sure. And now they were gone, suddenly, unexpectedly. It would be hard to get used to the fact that neither of them were coming back. Not with the way that it happened. Because it shouldn't have happened. And it was hard to think that it did.

Someone came into the room. It was Bailey. She had been going around, trying to check on her residents. She had not found Cristina yet, but she planned on finding her soon. She did not know how Cristina would handle this. And Alex…where there had already been Lexie.

She sat down next to him. He did not look at her. She looked at the floor for a minute.

"Izzie woke up," she said. He looked at her.

"I'm glad," he said, and sounded it despite the sadness in his voice. "I was worried."

"Yeah," Bailey agreed. He looked away again. She was trying to think of something to say. She had comforted many families in these situations, but this time it was different. She could not even comfort herself.

"I know it was unexpected," she said. "And I know that makes it harder than anything. We weren't prepared, and now all of a sudden she's gone, when she wasn't supposed to be."

"None of them were," he said. She sighed.

"I know," she said. "And I know that-that it's going to be hard."

"Yeah, I don't need this speech, I know how it goes," he said firmly. "I don't need to hear it. I could recite it to you."

She sighed again. This wasn't going to be easy for any of them. And she did not know how long it would take for it to become easier. Maybe never. She knew that she would never forget it. She'd never forget Meredith Grey and what happened on this day.

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Mark Sloan walked into the dark, nearly empty conference room. He hesitated for a moment; he felt like he had already lived this moment before. It wasn't all that long ago that a very similar situation happened. Except this time, there was no chance it saving her.

Derek was sitting against the wall by himself, trying to hide from the outside world. All he could think about was that he should be home with Meredith right now, holding her close. He could not imagine going home now. He could not imagine ever sleeping again. Not when Meredith was not lying there next to him. He had done so much to her, had hurt her too many times…and then in her time of need, he was unable to save her. He should have been able to save her. He saved people every day. Why could he not save her?

Mark approached him cautiously. Derek looked up at him. They looked at each other for a long time, as though silently communicating. And it wasn't hard to do. Mark did not need to ask Derek anything; he could see every emotion sketched on his face: fear, loss, anger, confusion. He was not Derek Shepard right now, not the brilliant adored Neurosurgeon. He was a lost scared man, completely broken inside.

"I went into surgery," Derek said. "I went into surgery, and that's the last time I saw her. The whole time I was in surgery, she had been taken and was in the hands of that…."

He seemed not to find a harsh enough word.

"You couldn't have known," Mark said. "There was no way. No one knew that she was gone until the girl said something."

Derek shook his head. "I never thought that when I got out of that surgery that I'd hear that Meredith was taken. And I tried. I know I tried. But I didn't try hard enough."

"You did-"

"I watched it happen," Derek said, cutting him off and looking angry; he was supposed to be blamed for this. Anyone who didn't was wrong. "I was right there. I watched him kill her Mark. I was there. I saw her die. And you said I tried? He didn't have me held back. I wasn't paralyzed. I tried to reason with him. I should have known that that wouldn't do any good. How stupid could I be?"

"Reasoning was logical," Mark said, knowing that he wasn't going to get Derek to see his way. "He was crazy. If you'd done anything else he would have just killed you both right there and-"

"Well right now I think it would be a whole hell of a lot better if I was with her," Derek said angrily and stood up. They looked at each other for another few moments, then Derek left the room.

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Everyone was dressed in black and not speaking much. George sat next to Izzie, who had insisted on letting her come, but since then hadn't said a word. Cristina was sitting upright and seemed to be in her own world. A world of shock that they were here. It really happened. This was really their friend's funeral.

Derek was sitting upfront by himself. He was staring at the casket that was holding the woman he loved. The woman he had planned on spending the rest of his life with. She was there in front of him. She was there as though she were sleeping. But she wasn't. not unless you called it sleeping for eternity. He could not go any closer than he was. He could not see her that way. He could not say goodbye.

Tears came to his eyes and he looked away. Several people were looking at him but didn't say anything. He didn't care if they talked about them. As long as they didn't dare speak to them he was fine with it. They had no idea how he was feeling. No one had been there. None of them had witnessed it like he did. None of them could ever understand. Meredith had been everything to him, his life, his one true love. He never saw himself with any one else, and did not think that he ever could.

No matter how hard he tried, he never would.


End file.
